The Kilted Writer

The Giver , by Lois Lowry, contains a lot of mind, body, and spirit symbolism on a variety of levels. First is Jonas and his two friends, Asher and Fiona. Jonas is the mind, Asher the body, and Fiona the spirit. Second is Jonas's family. His father is the spirit, his mother is the mind, and the children in the household collectively make up a body character. When examined individually, however, Jonas is the mind, Lily (his sister) is the spirit, and Gabriel (the child from the nursery they are nurturing during the night) is the body. I just glossed over this without giving any real reasons as to why this is true because I want to get into a slightly different topic. In my workshops, I often talk about occupations and their relation to the mind, body, and spirit symbolism. The Giver is a great example of the use of occupations to help strengthen your character symbolism. Spirit characters have a lot of compassion and tend to put their "cause" ahead of themselves. In...

There are two versions of the movie True Grit , both based on the novel by Charles Portis of the same title. While the remake is every bit as good as the original, in a lot of respects, it lacks one key element. In the climactic scene where Rooster Cogburn charges down four members of the outlaw gang led by Lucky Ned Pepper over an open field, the original movie starring John Wayne had a wall of aspen trees as the backdrop. The remake has no such majesty in this key scene. As for the plot, we have three main characters who are all out to find an outlaw, each for their own reasons. Mattie Ross wants justice for her father's murder. LaBoeuf (pronounced "LaBeef") wants a big reward being offered in Texas, and Rooster Cogburn wants to rid the country of one more malcontent while helping the young Mattie find her justice. The Mind Character: Mattie Ross Mattie is introduced meeting with the town's undertaker about her father's body. He has been brut...

Normally, I would introduce the book and tell you about each of the three character types. In this post, though, I want to focus on the interaction between the mind and spirit characters in Sue Monk Kidd's The Secret Life of Bees . The book shows how three sisters, May, June, and August, work to transform a fourth character, Lily Owens. May is the body character, June is the mind character, and August is the spirit character in the story. In the following passage, August and June are discussing what to do about Lily, who has just recently entered into their care. The Setup: For those who are unfamiliar with the book or the movie, here is how the story develops up to the interaction I will be breaking down. Lily is a teenage white girl in 1960's South Carolina. Her mother was killed when she was young in a tragic accident, so she lives alone with an abusive father. She runs away with a black housekeeper, who is a fugitive from the law, and winds up with thre...

In previous posts, I've taken a look at the mind and body characters in F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby . In this final post in the series, I will look at the presentation of the spirit character. The Spirit Character: Jay Gatsby Introductions are important and set the stage for the type of character a writer intends to present. Jay Gatsby is first shown emerging from the shadows to examine the stars. ...a figure had emerged from the shadow of my neighbor's mansion... Something in his leisurely movements and the secure position of his feet upon the lawn suggested that it was Mr. Gatsby himself, come out to determine what share was his of our local heavens. Gatsby reaches out toward a green light across the water, which we discover later is the direction of Daisy's house. He then disappears as mysteriously as he arrived on the scene. When I looked once more for Gatsby, he had vanished, and I was alone again in the unquiet darkness. An a...

Like Nick Carraway, Tom Buchanan is the quintessential embodiment of his character type, and this is clear from the moment he is introduced in the book. The Body Character: Tom Buchanan Tom's introduction firmly defines him as a body character. He is standing on the front porch of his home as Nick approaches and describes him as a: sturdy straw-haired man of thirty...hard mouth...two shining arrogant eyes...appearance of always leaning aggressively forward. Nick summarizes Tom's character by saying: "Now don't think my opinion on these matters is final," he seemed to say, "just because I am stronger and more of a man than you are." Tom is given to alcohol more than any other of the main characters in the book and is having an affair. He even admits to "making a fool of himself," but is jealous that Daisy and Gatsby might be having an affair. In fact, he is very much a hypocrite on the matter of extramarital relationshi...

(Note: This post was originally written in July 2013) With the recent movie release, I thought I would reread The Great Gatsby . In doing so, I discovered yet another fine example of mind, body, and spirit in literature, which I will show you in this series of posts. The Mind Character: Nick Carraway The book is written in first person, past tense, with Nick Carraway as the narrator. He introduces himself like this: In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I've been turning over in my mind ever since, After explaining what the advice was, he writes: ...I understand he meant a great deal more than that After introducing himself and several other characters, Nick ends up in an apartment in NY with Tom Buchanan, Tom's mistress, and a group of merrymakers, but he doesn't quite fit in with this crowd. He isn't a big drinker and doesn't have a girl of his own, so he sits in a chair reading a book. ...either it w...

In C.S. Lewis' The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe , we see mind, body and spirit clearly in the characters of Susan, Edmund, and Lucy Pevensie. Peter Pevensie is a 4th character who is transformed through his interactions with his siblings. This transformation model is common , and especially so in fantasy fiction. At the beginning of the story, Peter just wants to be a leader within his family and doesn't want to have any part of Narnia's struggles. By the end of the story, he is crowned High King of Narnia, Peter, the Magnificent. The Body Character: Edmund Pevensie Edmund cares only about himself. This is illustrated in the story through his obsession with Turkish Delight. He accepts the treat from the White Witch, the personification of evil in the story. He even begins to ignore her as he "...thought only of trying to shovel down as much Turkish Delight as he could, and the more he ate, the more he wanted to eat." The White Witch prom...

I recently stretched the idea of mind, body, and spirit characters into mind, body, and spirit societies . Now I am going to take the idea of mind, body, and spirit symbolism one step further. I have already discussed mind, body, and spirit characters in the Harry Potter series. In this post, I am going to take a deeper look at Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - specifically, the three tasks in the Triwizard Tournament. The Body Task: The Dragons The purpose of this task was to test the champions' strength and agility. Harry completed the task in the least amount of time by relying solely on his athletic ability when it comes to flying. Cedric Diggory tried a bit of deception by turning a rock into a dog, but he ended up relying on his agility when his dragon's attention was drawn away from the dog and back to Cedric. Fleur Delacour and Victor Krum tried attacking their dragons directly, evidently trying to put them out of commission so they could easily s...

Spoiler Alert: I will be analyzing Veronica Roth’s Divergent in this post, and I may include spoiler information. If you have not read the book, please read it first – it’s worth the time. Tris, the protagonist in Divergent , grew up in Abnegation , chose Dauntless as her new faction, but she also tested high in Erudite, one of the two 'mind' factions in her society. The Mind Society (I): The Erudite Faction Erudite emphasizes logic and knowledge. Their founders believed ignorance caused their former society's downfall. They are the teachers and researchers in the grand society. They develop all the testing used to help people decide which factions to join. Unfortunately, their reliance on logic leads to a predictable conclusion. (SPOILER) As in movies like ' I, Robot ,' the only 'logical' means to save mankind is to subjugate them under the oppressive rule of the mind society. They develop a new method of mind control to use Dauntless as ...

Spoiler Alert: I will be analyzing Veronica Roth’s Divergent in this post, and I may include spoiler information. If you have not read the book, please read it first – it’s worth the time. Tris, the protagonist in the story, chooses Dauntless , one of the body factions, but she is born into Abnegation, a spirit faction. One of the themes is Tris's discovery that being dauntless and being selfless are nearly one in the same, and that Dauntless was the correct choice for her because of her Abnegation origin.  The Spirit Society (I): The Abnegation Faction The founders of Abnegation believed selfishness and self-gratification led to the downfall of their society, so they dedicated their lives to self-denial. Abnegation was considered incorruptible at its founding, so its members were chosen as the leaders for the entire society. No one in Abnegation would ever be susceptible to bribery or influence. They place themselves below all others - even the Factionless. S...

Spoiler Alert: I will be analyzing Veronica Roth’s ‘Divergent’ in this post, and I may include spoiler information. If you have not read the book, please read it first – it’s worth the time. Divergent is the first book in a YA trilogy by Veronica Roth that is a masterful work of mind, body, and spirit layering. The story is set in a post-apocalyptic Chicago, where the society is divided into six population groups. Any time there are a multiple of three of anything, I get curious. People in this society choose which of five factions the wish to join when they turn sixteen years old, based on their personalities. If they ‘flunk out’ of their chosen faction, they end up in the sixth population group – the ‘Factionless.’ The main character in the book is special because her personality is not isolated to one faction or another. She is called ‘divergent’ because she tests high in three personality traits related to three different factions: the Dauntless (body), the Erud...

(Note: This post was originally written in January 2013) I am back from the holidays and will try to get back onto my regular Tuesday/Friday posting schedule. I have a three-part post I will be doing covering Veronica Roth's Divergent , but before I get into it, I want to introduce the idea of mind, body, and spirit societies. I will use J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle Earth as my example, here. The Hobbit is a well-known story, so I have no qualms including 'spoiler' information here. In a mind-body-spirit society, one race or class of individuals is defined by its overall characteristic traits. One race or class is known to all as the keepers of knowledge, for example. They bring reason to the corporate discussion and their input is often the source of conflict in a story. In SF or Fantasy, they are usually long-lived and maybe even immortal. In Middle Earth, the mind race is the race of elves, and in The Hobbit , it is the elves who advise against retaking the...

In William Shakespeare's 'Hamlet,' Hamlet is the mind character, and Laertes is the body character. That leaves only the spirit character, Ophelia, to address.  The Spirit Character: Ophelia Ophelia comes on the scene as Laertes is preparing to leave for France. Before he leaves, Laertes gives Ophelia some advice about her relationship with Hamlet. He seems to think Hamlet is interested in more than friendship, but less than commitment. She tells him, of his advice: 'Tis in my memory locked And you yourself shall keep the key of it. Ophelia does not believe Laertes, though. She believes Hamlet truly loves her and says just what Laertes wants to hear. She acts like a giddy schoolgirl, as Polonius points out. O: He hath, my lord, of late made many tenders of his affection to me. P: Affection? Pooh! You speak like a green girl Unsifted in such perilous circumstance. Do you believe his tenders, as you call them? As with Laertes, Ophelia see...

The primary body character in Hamlet is Laertes, as will be illustrated below. Many people mis-identify the antagonist of the story as the body character, and this would be an easy mistake in Hamlet, since Claudius has many body characteristics. The body, mind, and spirit characters are all on the side of the protagonist. But as with any rule, there can be exceptions. For the references and citations in these posts, I am using 'Hamlet,' Bantam Books, 1988, ed. David Bevington, fwd. by Joseph Papp The Body Character: Laertes Laertes returns to Denmark for the king's coronation, but is eager to return to France. In Shakespeare's time (and at many times throughout history), France was known for cuisine, arts, and leisurely pursuits. This contrasts well with Hamlet's desire to return to Wittenberg, known for intellectual pursuits and as the birthplace of the Reformation. Claudius's coronation seems like more of a nuisance to Laertes than an hono...

I have decided to address the three character types individually so I can include the citations necessary to illustrate the mind, body, and spirit characteristics. In Shakespeare's 'Hamlet,' the lead character, Hamlet, is the mind character of the story, as I will illustrate in this post. The body and spirit characters are Laertes and Ophelia, respectively, and I will address them in future posts. The Mind Character: Hamlet Hamlet comes onto the scene mourning his father's death and his mother's subsequent marriage to his uncle, Claudius. His mother, Gertrude, asks why things 'seem' a certain way with him, but he responds with what 'is.' "Seems," madam? Nay, it is. I know not "seems." ...These indeed "seem." For they are actions that a man might play But I have that within which passes show; These are but the trappings and the suits of woe When Horatio comes to Hamlet after seeing the former king...

I've been wanting to do this for quite some time, but I wanted to re-read the novel, first. Many times, what comes to the screen is a much more simplified and straightforward character definition than you get from reading the book. Not in this case. For this one, the book is even clearer than the movie. I found that the mind, body, and spirit characters in the movie had more depth than in the book, especially Fezzik. The Body Character: Fezzik (Andre the Giant) Fezzik is a giant. In the movie, he is portrayed by Andre the Giant (Read the intro to the 25th Anniversary Edition to learn more about Andre's selection for the part and his work in bringing it brilliantly to the screen. As Goldman himself said, Andre IS Fezzik). He is also a member of the Brute Squad, later in the story. Miracle Max threatens to call the Brute Squad to get the characters to leave his hut. Fezzik says, "I'm on the Brute Squad." Miracle Max looks him up and down, and the...

No, this is not the name of a movie or a book. It is merely and observation about spirit characters in literature and film. While this is not a universal truth, it occurs often enough that it deserves mention. Spirit characters are very often depicted as orphans. Here are just a few examples. Taran, from Lloyd Alexander's Prydain Chronicles, is raised by a sorcerer and does not know his family heritage. One theme running throughout the series is Taran's search for his true identity. Harry Potter is orphaned as a baby and raised by his aunt and uncle. Harry is constantly trying to identify with his parents, whom he never knew, while fighting the villain who murdered them. At times of extreme stress, an image or shadow of his parents often appears to help or encourage him. Bruce Wayne (aka Batman) was orphaned as a young boy and raised by his butler, Alfred. In most variations of the story, the criminal who murdered his parents returns as a villain he must lat...

Many times, as you can see in The Three Musketeers , the mind, body, and spirit characters work to transform a fourth character. Nowhere in literature is this so blatantly clear than in Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol." The three ghosts of Christmas not only display their character in their appearance and actions; they also display it with what they show Ebenezer Scrooge. The Mind Character: The Ghost of Christmas Past The Ghost of Christmas Past has two physical characteristics that stand out above all others. The light that emanates from his head and the belt around his tunic. Light is often used as a symbol of knowledge - that which illuminates the uncertainty of darkness. The Ghost resists Scrooge's efforts to have him cover the light with a cap. The Ghost suggests Scrooge has spent too much time ignoring the lessons of his past and that it's time to revisit them for his 'reclamation.' "You recollect the way?" inquired...

I recently saw "Hugo" and found it to be a wonderful movie. I have not read the book, so I do not know how close one is to the other - I will use what was depicted in the movie for this discussion. "Hugo" was expertly directed (Martin Scorsese) and the story was very well told. The foreshadowing was woven into the story beautifully and the acting was great. I would recommend it to just about anyone who loves movies and the art of movie making. In this story, like the Three Musketeers, the mind, body, and spirit characters work to transform a fourth character - George Melies (played by Ben Kingsley). The Spirit Character - Hugo Cabret ( Asa Butterfield) Hugo is an orphan with a passion for clockwork. His father was a clockmaker and once found an "automaton" hidden in an old museum. He promised to work with Hugo to fix the machine, but before it was complete, Hugo's father died. Later in the film, when the automaton is finally fixed,...

The idea of the mind, body, and spirit characters is not something new. I am currently reading "A Wrinkle in Time," and the characters are unbelievably clear. Even clearer, though, are the Three Musketeers, but here we see a twist - the addition of a fourth character. In "The Three Musketeers," D'Artagnan is outside the mind, body, and spirit circle. In fact, the mind, body, and spirit characters work to mature the fourth character, D'Artagnan, into a true Musketeer. This happens elsewhere in literature, as well. For example, in "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe," C.S. Lewis 'matures' Peter into the High King of Narnia through interactions with Edward (the body), Lucy (the spirit), and Susan (the mind), but I'll address that story another day. For now, we'll look at "The Three Musketeers." The Mind Character: Athos Athos' introduction is not much, but it is a clear example of 'mind over mat...