Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Top Ten Tuesday: Rebel, Rebel!

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created here at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!


1. Harry Potter in The Order of the Phoenix
For several reasons this book was actually my least favourite in the series for awhile so it was never re-read as many times as the other 6 books. However there was one aspect of this book that I always respected, and that was the way Harry Potter stood up for the truth, even when it turned the entire school against him. Yeah he was a little whiney and emo about the whole thing, and his actions perhaps were not the most effective way to get his message out but the fact that he refused to swallow the garbage Umbridge tried to push down his throat, even if that meant permanent scarring and being singled out in front of the school, well that was pretty awesome and brave.

2. Dumbledore's Army in The Order of the Phoenix
I couldn't mention Harry and not mention the risk all the other students were taking to meet up and learn the crucial skills that would one day save their lives. This small group of students chose to put their faith in Harry over the authority figures and took a massive risk which paid off multiple times.

3. Lyra in the His Dark Materials trilogy
It must have been boring growing up at the college with only stuffy old men for company, I imagine if she hadn't rebelled and gone running over rooftops she might have simply gone mad! Her early rebellion was important though, if she hadn't made a habit of sneaking into rooms to listen to things or running off to play with other kids she never would have had the courage to run and look for Roger when he went missing.

4. Peekay in The Power of One/ Tandia
Growing up in South Africa Peekay witnessed many atrocities and thanks to his wonderful teacher Doc he decided early on not to follow the crowd and simply do what was easy, but to stand up for what was right. Just about everything Peekay did rebelled from what was expected of a young, intelligent white boy in South Africa, he bushed boundaries and took chances even if it meant expulsion, arrest or even exile.

5. Shadow in American Gods
Is Shadow a rebel? I don't know, perhaps not. But I'm going to include him in this list because he never took the easy way out. At the start he was simply followed orders, but once he knew the direction things were going and knew what was at stake he acted for the good of the many.

6. Tim in The Dangerous Lives of Alterboys
You know the Hunter S. Thompson quote, "too weird to live, too rare to die?" Well that comes to mind everytime I reread this book and Tim steals the stage. Stuck in a small town with limited possibilities he stands out against the sea of beige that inhabits it. Intelligent and creative and with no tolerance for any form of prejudice, he's constantly putting himself and his friends in danger of suspension/expulsion/retaliation but at the end of the day they come home with the most amazing stories and memories. He overstepped boundaries and occasionally took things too far, and some people got hurt because of it, but doesn't that usually happen when you rebel?

7. Offred in The Handmaid's Tale
Not only did she take part in 'illegal' activities, but she rebelled by refusing to accept the situation. Unlike other women who just laid down and accepted the new, horrific way, she constantly challenged it. Perhaps not out loud, at least not for the most part, but in her small rebellions she made it clear to the people around her that she hadn't forgotten what life used to be like and what cruelty they'd dished out.

8. Hunter S. Thompson
So he's not a character, but I'll be damned if I'm going to exclude him from a list that was made for him. All his life this man rebelled from the status quo and lived his life as he wanted to. I remember reading a piece of an interview with his longtime friend Bob Brandis where he said that when HST called it would usually be at 4am, and before he met HST and after he died any call at that time would usually be an emergency or something bad. I know that probably doesn't sound like much but I thought it was a nice little anecdote (Brandis said it better!) that showed that HST lived by his own rules.

9. Christopher Chant from The Lives of Christopher Chant
Christopher's rebellion is fairly typical of a young person thrust into a life of responsibility, structure and rules. After being hit on the head at boarding school with a cricket bat and killed, it is discovered that he's blessed with a 'condition' where he has 9 lives, which means that he will be the next Chrestomanci. Immediately his life is heading in a direction that he doesn't like, he no longer has the opportunity to choose anything, and he no longer has any other kids as company. No wonder he rebels! He takes dangerous risks and takes part in some stupid stunts, but he gains some power back over his life and his adventures take him into incredible new worlds that are stunning to read about.

10.Arya from Game of Thrones
Poor Arya was unfortunate enough to be born a girl in a time and world where being a girl meant dresses, sewing, propriety and early engagements. Not that she lets that get in the way of doing what she wants, when she wants! While the rest of the castle thinks she's learning to dance and doing other girly things she's chasing after cats, eploring the castle and taking secret sword fighting lessons. She's brash, loud and unruly but she's also fiercely loyal, independant and honest and one of the most interesting characters in the series. 


6 comments:

  1. OOTP was my least favorite Harry Potter book for a long time too, but on recent re-reads I've come to appreciate it. Actually it's now one of my favorite books. I hate how moody Harry is, but I also understand it. And I love all the Umbridge moments. She's a true villain.

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  2. Peekay was always a favorite character of mine, so it's nice to see another reader recognize him. :) I saw the film first and read the book second, both of which were enjoyable. Excellent choice for a list of rebels. :)

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  3. @ Alison, yeah the last couple of times I've read OOTP I've been able to get past emo-Harry. The DA and Umbridge (so deliciously evil!) are too fantastic to justify skipping the book!

    @DJL, I love Peekay. It makes me sad that more people haven't read those books because they're amazing. I saw the film years and years and years ago after reading the book and can barely remember it. It had Daniel Craig in it didn't it?

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  4. Offred's a great rebel!! And Lyra too! God, I suck at thinking of stuff... I have like 3 Hunter S Thompson books to read and yet the closest I've got to them is watching Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas... must get to them soon!

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  5. I didn't even think of Harry standing up to Umbridge as one of my reasons to put him on my list. But, he's a great character for this list. I also had Lyra. :)

    My Top Ten List

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