Welcome to another post, today I’m going to start taking part in Let’s Talk Bookish, a weekly meme hosted by Rukky @ Eternity Books and Dani @ Literary Lion. This week’s topic is Redemption Arcs!
Do you like redemption arcs?
I haven’t actually read that many books with redemption arcs, since I’ve only just got back into fantasy (and reading in general!) this year, which has this trope the most. However, when I have seen it done, I normally like it, with a few exceptions.
What are your favourite redemption arcs?
These two have to be my favourites. If you’ve seen a few other posts on my blog, then you’ll know how much I love The Sword of Kaigen and tell everyone how much I do! The redemption arc was slightly controversial– some people loved the dramatic ultimatum and the start of a redemption arc (me), while others felt like it wasn’t realistic (I read some low reviews and it made me sad). What I liked about it was that it wasn’t a fully developed arc but there was promise of the character’s changing attitude.
I had to include the A Christmas Carol. It’s the perfect time to read it as well! If you don’t really like or are intimidated by classics but want to get into them, then I’d recommend this one. It’s easy to follow along and you probably know the story already, but it also has references and history to analyse. And the redemption arc of Scrooge is amazing to see.
What makes good redemption arcs?
Based on my two favourites, I would say there isn’t really a right way to do it. All you need is a villain/bad person who has the potential to change, and an event or realisation to set them on their path to redemption!
Can any character be redeemed or are there some characters that are too far gone?
Yes, I think you definitely have to have a character that has done bad things but has it within themselves to change. There are some characters that I just don’t want a character arc from because I don’t want to like them, or it would just be too unbelievable. One character I can think of is Snape from Harry Potter, written by an unknown author! I can’t see why anyone likes him and his ‘redemption arc’ just shows that he is an even worse and more pathetic person than we thought, in my opinion anyway. Don’t support Snape! (Or JKR.)
Thank you for reading! What do you think about redemption arcs?
—ella♥
ella isn’t writing 