Most realistically good character in fiction

[Jak23]

Finn the Human. If you only watched the first 2 or 3 seasons you probably think I'm typing this with my nose on account of the straightjacket.
But what they've done with him(and frankly everyone on this show) in the past 2 seasons is nothing short of amazing.

 

[Fox12]

Chie is the quintessential girl next door, which is why she's probably the most popular character in her game (which is saying something). Her flaws and raw honesty just make her more relatable to the average human being.

Is Chie considered the most popular? Have there been polls on that? (don't answer that.) I would argue she wasn't near as good as you seem to think. Don't forget that her big secret was that she was abusing Yukiko and acting as a gatekeeper to the most attractive girl at the school just to make herself feel a little more wanted and needed. Kind of a ***** move if you ask me. Her shadow boss version of herself is literally carried on the backs of other girls! (Also kind of looks like a KKK member who washed her sheets with some yellow.

The point isn't that she's perfect, it's that she's flawed and relatable, in a human way. She's also the only character I see universally brought up over and over again, so she seems to have quite the fandom. But I digress, it isn't a popularity contest to me. Every character from that game was fantastic, even teddie, who I initially hated. Kanji in particular had some of the best development is the series. My only point is that it's probably easier to relate with the down to earth chie then it is to a pop star, a super detective, or a bear monster. That's why I'd say she's good in a "human way" while the others aren't, even if they're great characters in their own right (they are).

While we're at it, lets throw in kanji. He never seems to get enough credit. There's something to be said for a doofus with a heart of gold.

 

[TheRiddler]

I'm going to interpret "realistically good" as "good in a morally ambiguous/realistic setting". With that in mind, my choices are as follows: Atticus Finch (I think somebody above already said the same thing) and Juror #8 from Twelve Angry Men for their commitment to justice in the face of the mob mentality. Cedric Daniels and Bunny Colvin, both from The Wire, for being competent and working toward the public good without straying completely into asshole territory.

 

[chocolate pickles]

Lee Everett. No matter how you played Lee, he was always trying to do the 'right thing'.

Take food/clothing from an abandoned car? If you do, then you can justify it: The group has kids, everyone is starving and, in all likely hood, it is abandoned. If you dont. you can justify it: What if there are people out there who own this car? It would be stealing, and someone else would suffer because of your actions.

There weren't really 'good' or 'bad' choices in walking dead. It mainly seemed to come down to Lee doing things for the good of the group of the good of others.

 

[BodomBeachChild]

I would say the main character from the Giver. All the Givers before him knew that the society was flawed, but stayed with no intention of making it better. The MC (Can't remember his name) is so righteous in his conviction that the society is not a utopia that he steals a damn baby (a twin that was going to be euthanized because he was the smaller of the two babies) and runs, with the book ending as he approaches a cabin outside of the utopian village.

Whoa I never see anyone who has read The Giver. That is a good example.

 

[Cowabungaa]

As far as realistic Lawful Good characters go, I'd say Marge Gunderson from Fargo was the first character I thought of.

She just tries to be a good cop, is brave but not stupid and wants everyone around her to just be safe. And she'll do her very best to keep those people, which is just doing her job well. No superhuman heroics, no insane acts of bravery. I really damn like her.

 

[Blow_Pop]

I would say the main character from the Giver. All the Givers before him knew that the society was flawed, but stayed with no intention of making it better. The MC (Can't remember his name) is so righteous in his conviction that the society is not a utopia that he steals a damn baby (a twin that was going to be euthanized because he was the smaller of the two babies) and runs, with the book ending as he approaches a cabin outside of the utopian village.

Whoa I never see anyone who has read The Giver. That is a good example.

Who wrote The Giver then? Sounds quite Brave New World like. I loved Brave New World too.

Lois Lowry wrote it. And it's on my to -read list

I'm gonna have to second this, Jane Austen's characters are pretty damn great and pretty realistically good. I'm addicted to Pride & Prejudice at the moment, I'm re-reading it, I keep telling myself to read it slowly and enjoy it but I find it hard to put down. The characters are great, and the way they interact is incredibly well written.

I'm going through a classics period right now but I havn't had the desire to read P&P because aside from being the framwork for a whole lot of dumb Chick Flicks I know the general plot outline

Read Pride and Prejudice with Zombies. Much better book and fairly true to the original. And despite it setting the framework for a lot of really dumb chick flicks it's still a good read even with knowing the general plot outline.


OT: I'd probably have to agree with Darcy and Elizabeth because most of the books I read especially lately don't really have realistically good characters. Though, the Pretty Little Liars series, the girls TRY to be good but due to circumstances and other things of the like wind up not a lot of times. So basically they are fallible humans.

 

[Blow_Pop]

OT: I'd probably have to agree with Darcy and Elizabeth because most of the books I read especially lately don't really have realistically good characters. Though, the Pretty Little Liars series, the girls TRY to be good but due to circumstances and other things of the like wind up not a lot of times. So basically they are fallible humans.

Cheers for the Giver author, much appreciated, although not sure I entirely agree with your statement that Pride and Prejudice with Zombies is a "much better book than Pride and Prejudice". : )

Don't get me wrong. Love P&P. But I also adore the hell out of classics being re-done. And my reasoning for better is how much I was cracking up while reading it. Then again I've also read almost every different adaptation of P&P so yeah.......

 

[MeChaNiZ3D]

So in all probability it's not the most realistic, or even in the top thousand, because I haven't read all of fiction. But Captain Lawrence from the Temeraire series. As a man forced to juggle his dragon's naive unmitigated optimism with his duties, reputation and the agenda of the country in a time of war, he acts honourably no matter the circumstances, even when it puts his career at risk.

 

[Nigh Invulnerable]

I want to say Phill Dunphy from Modern Family.

He's the most genuinely good character I can think of off the top of my head.

That's an interesting choice, and not one I'd have made right away. I do agree that he's generally the most genuinely kind and helpful person on the show, who just happens to have a few quirks and weaknesses. Good call!

I'll throw Harry Dresden into the mix. He's practical, and not afraid to use his magic or muggle tools in creative ways to beat a baddie, which can sometimes seem a bit underhanded, but he's protecting the ones he loves, and the city in which they live to the best of his abilities at all times.

 

[PainInTheAssInternet]

Ellen Ripley from the first three Alien movies (arguably fourth, but that isn't her so it doesn't technically count).

She is a fairly average person; not particularly intelligent, physically strong or morally pandering. She just does what she does in that situation. She isn't willing to let innocent people die, gets angry when they do and grieves at her many losses. She does originally deny the mission to Acheron/LV 426 and agrees due to personal reasons. She finally breaks in the third movie and disengages when she realizes

Spoiler

she's pregnant with an Alien queen and the only people who are capable of helping her
1) Don't care about her well-being and
2) Would make all her efforts, and the deaths of her friends, for naught

She isn't someone who goes out because it's the right thing to do, but because she's compelled to do so. She saved Newt because she cared for her on a personal level. Her character, and indeed the movies, really lack an overarching moral and I'd say the trilogy ended in the only way it could have.

Spoiler

While on the subject of the end of the trilogy, I am aware of the Jesus imagery. That would appear to disprove my belief that she is realistically good because she's being compared to Jesus, but she kills herself for the reasons above, not merely because it was the right thing to do. At that point, she had invested and lost so much in her life thanks to both the company and the aliens that she was willing to kill herself to deny them a victory. It was spite more than morality, likely mixed with the realization they would have just forced her to give birth to the creature and die anyways. That last bit seems to be supported with Bishop's pleas when he realizes what she's doing, which by the way never made sense to me. Why would he say that when he knows that's exactly why she's doing it?

 

[NeutralDrow]

Um...doesn't the existence of Fred Rogers kind of imply the bar is set a lot higher than you're giving it credit?

 

[gargantual]

Also what's a 'good' character?

It's very easy to be 'good' if you never face any hardship, so I guess characters in many children's books or utopias?

It's a bit of an odd question.

Brandon Sanderson's Warbreaker was a direct example of that. Actually so was 1983's Trading Places. Take the prudent out of their comfortable hypocrisies, and see how quick their opinions change. Why don't we have MOORRE fiction like that?

 

[WhiteFangofWhoa]

Peter Parker. At least as good-natured and altruistic as Supes in most versions, but being only human he needed a good metaphorical kick in the face first to prevent his ridiculous powers from going to his head.

I remember there was an arc in the Spectacular Spider Man 'toon which called attention to the fact that Peter is sort of cheating to get his photos, but it never hurts anyone (at least after he learns his lesson early on about when not to stop and take pictures of something), and I wouldn't begrudge him that small leg up with everything else that he has to put up with, especially since most of that money goes towards helping his aunt pay the bills, or paying his own rent. These small concessions to practicality and realism are how I figure a very well-raised science-focused teenager would handle the situation.

 

[newfoundsky]

I would say the main character from the Giver. All the Givers before him knew that the society was flawed, but stayed with no intention of making it better. The MC (Can't remember his name) is so righteous in his conviction that the society is not a utopia that he steals a damn baby (a twin that was going to be euthanized because he was the smaller of the two babies) and runs, with the book ending as he approaches a cabin outside of the utopian village.

Whoa I never see anyone who has read The Giver. That is a good example.

Who wrote The Giver then? Sounds quite Brave New World like. I loved Brave New World too.

Spoiler: the book has been out twenty god damn years people, but if you absolutely must not know the plot of this thing, I'll spoiler tag it for you. Also, there is apparently a movie coming out next year, so there is that.

I would say it is more like 1984 only without the governmental suppression. The only people that know anything about anything are the Givers, who know things because they remember what it was like before the Community became what it was. All the war, famine, death and disease, but also what it is like to see color, to feel a breeze, and to feel the sun. The Givers exist as insurance basically. Everyone gets to live on without knowing that there is less or more to life, and be happy in that ignorance because they don't know any better, and the Givers are there to remember how to handle a situation that is unusual, such as a stranger coming into the community, or a food shipment being delayed.

 

[Lieju]

I remember there was an arc in the Spectacular Spider Man 'toon which called attention to the fact that Peter is sort of cheating to get his photos, but it never hurts anyone (at least after he learns his lesson early on about when not to stop and take pictures of something), and I wouldn't begrudge him that small leg up with everything else that he has to put up with, especially since most of that money goes towards helping his aunt pay the bills, or paying his own rent. These small concessions to practicality and realism are how I figure a very well-raised science-focused teenager would handle the situation.

Also he builds all of his tech himself, like the webshooters (when they're not organic) and spider-tracers and other stuff. He needs to have funding somehow.

 

[Padwolf]

snippidy
Mansfield Park is well worth a look when you're done with P&P! Probably Austen's best book.

I adored Mansfield Park! Another great one is Northanger Abbey, which feels almost like a satire of books like Mystery of Uldolpho. It's really good. I can read her books over and over.

 

[GabeZhul]

Ciaphas Cain, HERO OF THE IMPERIUM. The guy is a friendly commissar (which is already something incredibly outstanding in the WH40k universe), and he is a deconstruction of the classical heroic qualities: He is heralded as a hero, besting foes a simple commissar would normally stand no chance against, surviving encounters where even seasoned Space Marine squads would call quits, all the while being humble, highly social and a father to his men and friend to his fellow officers... but under all the imperial propaganda he is just a simple if talented man who suffers from almost pathological levels of self-deprecation, most of his reputation stems from his attempts to keep himself as far from danger as possible (thus befriending the troops so that they wouldn't "accidentally" shoot him in the back and always trying to invent other tasks for himself in order to avoid the front-lines), yet somehow he always manages to get himself involved in the most dangerous battles any time he is deployed.

On the surface he is the HERO OF THE IMPERIUM with an entire mythos cobbled around him. Underneath that however he is just a simple soldier who tries his hardest not to get killed and all his actions are in one way or the other are focused on achieving that goal... yet underneath that layer is an actually good, heroic person who repeatedly shows that he genuinely cares for the lives of the people under his command.

In short, Ciaphas Cain is not a good guy because he subscribed to some sort of heroic ideal or moral, he just is, and subsequently he became a hero not because he tried to be one, but because he was just doing what he knew how to do best and people recognized him. That's what I think real life heroes are like, and that's why I think he is one of the most realistic portrayal of one in fiction.

 

[Quickman]

Logan Ninefingers from Joe Abercrombie's "First Law Trilogy".

Many who have read the series will criticize this. Hence the following explanation:

- He does what is ultimately right in the end.
- His fighting prowess, though uncontrollable (and retconned later in "Red Country" as being controllable, then retconned even later in the same entry) is used for the more moralistic outcome over the less likely, morenationalistic outcome.
- Due to the fact that his actions caused many events which lead to war, he is the one who opposes King Bethod on the moral notion that he is the one who has to stall these events and stop them from unfolding.
- He's a man who has committed many evils in his youth only to later have a repentent outlook on his actions later on. Ends up despising the way he once lived and becomes more peaceful as a man as time goes on. Becomes very fatherly/grandfatherly towards the end.
- Non-judgemental character and good man who tries to protect his own.

Honestly, he IS the quintessential "realistic good guy".

 

[Tamayo]

Logan Ninefingers from Joe Abercrombie's "First Law Trilogy".

I see what you did there.

Mmm, no he isn't. He's The Atoner. (Careful, tvtropes.org link.) He tries, and mostly fails, to overcome his evils. Trying to be good is a major step to being good, yes, but in the end he is still the Bloody-Nine, and being a terrifying merciless berserker is the only way he can ever achieve what he wants to see happen; he isn't capable either morally or mentally of doing better. He is a tragic hero, and tragic heroes fail because of tragic flaws.

If you want a believable fictional good guy, try Michael Connelly's police detective Harry Bosch, of his long-running series that begins with The Black Echo. They are mostly excellent books, too.