For my project I thought back to my childhood to a computer strategy game I used to and still sometimes play: Battle for Middle Earth 2, Rise of the Witch King. Each character/hero/unit has special abilities that can help them on the battlefield and are accurate to the Lord of the Rings movies. I get a kick out of some, so I thought it would be fun to try this for the characters we have discovered through literature in our class. Enjoy!
Name: Victor Frankenstein
Summary: The ambitious young inventor that sees everything as a challenge. Perhaps his youth serves as a catalyst to his restless mind. Constantly Curious, he seeks approval from others he holds higher than himself. Even though he may be a groundbreaking scientist, he fails to contemplate the consequences of his actions. His relationship with nature is skewed where enough is never enough. What Victor won’t realize until later is when you meddle with the laws of nature, the more severe the consequences become.
Strengths- Ambitious, determined, hard-working
Weaknesses- Selfish, inconsiderate
Special Powers:
Scientist of the century- Victor can build up the determination to create anything he wants. Nothing is impossible for Victor!
Lightning Strike- Victor casts a horrible spell of lightning bolts at his enemies.
Recap: Victor Frankenstein was easy to write about except when it came to strengths because all in all he really messed up in the book. The real question: was his ambition something to be proud of regardless to what he created? At first, he was inconsiderate and shifted blame of innocent deaths but I’m not sure how much he would be haunted if the creature itself stopped following him.
Name: The Creature
Summary: Being nothing more than a product of a young man’s ambition is bound to have some serious neglect and misunderstanding. Often someone to either fear or love, trust can never be placed into him. He seeks love and connection and can be a solid ally in a fist brawl, but in the grand scheme of things he will throw you under the bus due to his rage. He dances the line between vengeance and desperation. A word of advice, if you shall cross paths with him, keep your distance and keep the banter kind.
Strengths: Physically strong, curious, mobility (lol)
Weaknesses: Rage, hateful
Special Powers:
Stealth: The creature can track anyone and anything he chooses and can rarely be detected only by Victor.
Crippling Monologue: The creature can freeze his enemies for a certain amount of time as he vocally expresses his deepest thoughts.
Roaring Rage: If one assaults the creature directly, most likely the creature will be victorious and put the assaulter in a shallow grave due to his fury.
Recap: So far, The Creature has been the most entertaining to write about strictly just because of how amazing the character is. Even though his rage is powerful physically, rage in general can only hurt and that is why it lies under weaknesses. I was contemplating if he was loving and the truth is he had the potential to be, but he ended up drowning in his hatred.
Name: Jane Eyre
Summary: An imaginative and curious young woman with a fierce morality. Jane not only can take a punch, but she can give it right back through well thought out and completely justified monologues. Her voice is her weapon, and nobody needs to teach her right from wrong- she has figured that all out on her own whilst living in multiple environments with multiple careless and unloving people.
Strengths: Loyalty, kindness, bravery
Weaknesses: Stubborn
Special Powers:
Undying Commitment: Jane will stay by one’s side and always have ones back if shown compassion and equality.
Wandering Eye: Jane can see things around her that others are blind to (the dead, evil hidden plots).
Aggressive Survival: Jane can still run for long periods on zero to no energy.
Recap: That last power Aggressive Survival was inspired by the red room and being locked away for a long time without food. Yes, I had to add Jane Eyre to this because she is such a beautiful character. It was very difficult to find a weakness and I suppose she was stubborn when it came to her beliefs against Ellen Burns. The only other weakness (which is questionable why there are so little) is the potential Mr. Rochester manipulation which we haven’t finished reading. I’m a little concerned with how much she is obsessing over the man.
Name: Mr. Rochester
Summary: Being the head of an estate has its gifts and flaws. Mr. Rochester is an endless wave of power and deception. He can twist anyone he wants around his fingers and use them to fulfill his deepest desires. In this case, he seems to have a strange fascination with Jane Eyre which has yet to be revealed. He is a born leader and inspires fear in his enemies and courage to his very limited loved ones. As powerful he may sound, he can easily topple from multiple pressure points.
Strengths: Leadership, bravery
Weaknesses: Evasive, communication (lack of), immature
Special Powers:
Creature of the Night: Mr. Rochester turns into a werewolf where he can be immensely powerful but cannot distinguish between friend and foe.
Dark Temptation: Mr. Rochester can tempt and manipulate others to do what he wants.
Disguise: Mr. Rochester can go under cover as a fortune teller to reveal the deepest truths and secrets others keep locked away.
Recap: Since we know so little about the man, I think it’s more fun this way because once the story is over it will be interesting to look back on this. Of course, the werewolf needed to happen and that is directly inspired from a video game I sometimes play.
Name: Grave Diggers
Summary: The Grave Diggers take gossip to a whole new level. They do not mind earning their money burying others because the deceased gives them plenty of conversation fuel. With dark humor and little wit, these two clowns can be unpleasant to engage with, but also can be useful in tight situations. They can talk their way out of any situation using expert stalling tactics. They are cheap workers and carry a few tricks up their sleeves but very weak when attacked.
Strengths: Digging, open-minded, humor
Weaknesses: Manners, cowardice
Special Powers:
Graveside Conversation: Can distract your enemies for a healthy amount of time.
Slippery Tongue: If captured, the Grave Diggers can be easily forced to betray their allies and divulge plots to the enemy’s advantage.
Shallow Grave: Grave Diggers can rarely resurrect one fallen comrade from the grave, but it is a lengthy process.
Recap: These were the gentlemen that inspired me to do this project because they just seemed so out of place in Hamlet that it was humorous to me what they were doing there in the first place. They reminded me of the two vultures in the animated Robin Hood where they are just goofy lower-class airheads and yet they have the conversations that others would not have. There is no social etiquette with them which to me is being open-minded, even if some of their beliefs are very close-minded. It was difficult to find strengths for these guys because I just see them as clowns/ potentially untrustworthy good luck charms?
Image sources
Sprockets and Springes 