7.31.2012

Top Ten Tuesday: Characters I'd Trade Places with for 24 Hours

This topic raises two questions. First, do I get to be the character, with all their skills and understanding, or am I just myself living where they live and hanging out with their friends? Second, which 24 hours do I trade with them? Frankly, some of the days in even comparatively pleasant novels can be terrifying...

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish! Do come join the fun...

Since there don't seem to be any rules, and since I'm not the adventurous sort, I think I'll specify a non-exciting ordinary-day type of situation. Regarding the first question, I'll treat it like an exchange student program—but since I'm stepping into these characters' worlds, I get some of their magic. It's only fair.

1. Any random Hogwarts student, preferably a Hufflepuff so I get to actually hang out in my common room and sleep in the tunnel dorms. I want to go to Charms class and Transfiguration and Astronomy, and I even think Potions would be interesting. I could never live up to the expectations of Ginny or Hermione, so I wouldn't dare just trade with either, but if I got to actually become a character, I'd go for Ginny. It would be interesting to find out what physical bravery feels like, not to mention having six brothers. (The Harry Potter books, J.K. Rowling)

2. Lucy Pevensie. Just give me a quiet day at Cair Paravel, out by the sea, with a few friendly talking animals—and if I got to see Aslan, that would be the greatest. (The Chronicles of Narnia, C.S. Lewis)

3. Anidori-Kiladra Talianna Isilee. I want to speak to the wind and the birds and a horse... it would be hard to come away from that, though. (The Goose Girl, Shannon Hale)

4. I'd like to say Maria Merryweather, but I'll need to be reduced to her size if I am going to fit in her turret bedroom or ride her pony. I may have a drop of fairy blood in my ancestry, but it seems a giant got mixed in there somewhere, too. (The Little White Horse, Elizabeth Goudge)

5. Kilmeny Gordon, provided I have her talent for the violin. That's a sort of magic, right? For 24 hours, I'd gladly give up the ability to speak for that gift. Also, I'd like to hang out in that old orchard. (Kilmeny of the Orchard, L.M. Montgomery)

6. Meggie Folchart. The Inkworld is a little scary, but overall I think I'd like it, provided my day there can be post-Capricorn, Adderhead, Orpheus, and Magpie. Farid might annoy me, but I think Doria and I would be good friends. (The Inkworld books, Cornelia Funke)

7. Princess Celie. I'd just enjoy hanging out with Castle Glower for a day. (Tuesdays at the Castle, Jessica Day George)

8. Percy Jackson. Annabeth can show me around Camp Half-Blood, and I'd definitely be up for being able to breathe underwater and ride a Pegasus I could talk to (even if he did talk back like a mob boss). (The Percy Jackson and the Olympians books, Rick Riordan)

9. Mary Lennox. I just want a day in her garden, and spending part of it with Dickon and his animals would be great, too. (The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett)

10. Matilda—Dante's, not Dahl's. Can I be the pretty, singing, flower-picking girl in the terrestrial Paradise, who leads purified souls through the great rivers in which the sinner forgets his sin and remembers his good deeds and joys? That would be the ideal job for me. (Purgatorio, Dante)

I'm not sure whether any of these characters would want to trade with me, though. The Hufflepuff would be bored, as would Maria, and Matilda would feel desperately out of place. Kilmeny and Celie would probably be frightened. Isi would be baffled by my devotion to the computer (but then she'd find the bookshelves and be just fine.)

Meggie might be all right; she'd just spend all day reading. Lucy would conscientiously do anything on my to-do list, be sweet to all my loved ones, and amuse herself with garden or books or walking in the quiet hours. Percy would probably like a calm day in Bellingham, as long as he got to keep his ability to breathe underwater. Mary Lennox would have plenty to occupy her, and she's certainly one of the few characters I'd trust with my garden.

Who would you trade with for a day?

14 comments:

  1. Enjoyed your commentary along with your list, although I have a feeling some of those characters would be quite pleased share space with you. Great job.

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  2. great list! I would also love to be anyone in Harry Potter :D I had the same problem w/ my list but I didn't see any rules \(.___.)/
    My Top Ten Tuesday: http://booknookgirl.blogspot.com/2012/07/top-ten-tuesday-switching-spots.html

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  3. Great picks! I really need to finish the Percy Jackson series. I only read half of the first one & I never finished it.

    Thanks for sharing! :)

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  4. Princess Irene.

    To climb the long stairs and the hidden passage and sit on the lap of my beautiful great-great-great-great-great grandmother (I forget how many greats exactly), and have her feed me pigeons eggs and give me invisible threads.

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  5. yarereviews, being in Harry Potter would be pretty awesome. :D

    Krystianna, I found the first Percy Jackson a little harder than expected to get into, as well. But I wound up loving them after I got going, so it's at least worth trying book 2!

    Christie, good call! I don't remember how many greats either. But the ancestral Irene was definitely a character to know and love and want to spend time with. :)

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  6. I totally considered Annabeth since she was my favorite! Love the Kilmeny too, though that is also I think the creepiest LM Montgomery romance! I put Diana Barry so I was in that mindset as well!

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  7. Cool top ten list, Jenna. So many to choose from! It's so difficult not to conflate the swap-a-day list with my favorite heroines list, so I won't even try. Here are the first six off the top of my head:

    (1) Meg Murry (pretty much any time in the Time quintet)
    (2) Jane Eyre (post-Lowood School)
    (3) Hermione Granger (pretty much any time in HP after she becomes friends with Harry and Ron but, er, before she marries Ron--sorry, Ron's just not my type of dude..I prefer Neville)
    (4) Valancy Stirling (post-Her Big Choice in The Blue Castle)
    (5) Pippi Longstocking (I'm quite sure I hear some laughter out there....)
    (6) Jo March (when she's writing, acting, and playing with her sisters in Little Women)

    And if I were to step into a day in the life of a male character, it would be:

    (7) Luke Skywalker (Do films count?? If so, then from Return of the Jedi)
    (8) Howard Roark (from The Fountainhead)

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  8. Mary, I considered Annabeth, too! The only reason I didn't pick her is because I'm shy around boys, and it would take me half the 24 hours to get comfortable talking to Percy. :) But if I got to be her, I'd be all over it!

    Carrie-Ann, PIPPI LONGSTOCKING. How did I not think of her? That's the best idea I've heard anyone come up with yet. :D

    Luke Skywalker would also be fun to trade with, provided I didn't have to do anything too crazy. :P Love the rest of your list, too!

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    Replies
    1. Flora Poste (Cold Comfort Farm)..I like the idea of meeting the relatives, and managing them! :)

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    2. Haha! I've never read that, but am loosely familiar with the story. Sounds like a big job. ;)

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