A Need For Freedom

Claudia and Finn are the two main characters in my book (Incarceron). Though they are in two completely different places, they are connected. Finn is a prisoner in the vast prison, Incarceron, whom everybody from The Realm believes in a perfect society. But in reality, Finn lives in horrible conditions and is treated not like a human being, but like an animal. Claudia, on the other hand, lives in The Realm and is the daughter of the Warden of Incarceron. She is treated like royalty, and though she has been given only the finest things in life, she feels trapped inside her life. She wants nothing more than to be free.

PAUSE: Now that you have some background information, I just want to make it clear- no, not just clear- CRYSTAL clear- that I am completely in love with these two characters!!! They aren't perfect, because let's face it, if they were perfect, imagining ourselves in their shoes and relating to these characters would be nearly impossible. Now that I think about it, it would make ourselves feel really bad about us as individuals. So that is why I love these characters, and I promise I will try not to get mad or argue about it with you whenever possible. Everybody has their own opinions (whether they are right or wrong), they matter. Alright, back to what I was saying:

What makes them similar is not just that Claudia's father is the Warden of the prison that Finn is living inside, but that Finn and Claudia what nothing else more in the world than freedom. They want to be free from everything that has been holding them back. What I like that the author did was that she made these characters have a common goal, which is freedom, but they are both looking for different types of freedom. Claudia is looking for emotional freedom, so that she can live her life without knowing that she has to rule over The Realm and marry some jerk, Caspar, who she absolutely hates and doesn't even know very well.

PAUSE: About Caspar, to be honest...well, um, yeah he's a jerk. He has the nerve to tell Claudia that as soon as they have the thrown, he basically is going to ignore her the rest of his life...which is probably okay considering Claudia just hates Caspar. I'm trying to find something nice to say about Caspar, but it really isn't working. Let's see...Nope. I just sat here for 5 minutes searching my brain and the book for something nice about Caspar. Do you know what I found? Nothing! I guess the only good thing about him is that he provides more reason for Claudia to want freedom. That's all.

Finn, on the other hand is looking for freedom from something tangible, Incarceron. He doesn't know for sure if there is even a way out, but he wants freedom so badly, that he would jump through hoops to get something that may not even be possible. Incorporating this emotion into the character turns his 'want' of freedom in a need for freedom. I really like the way that Catherine Fisher did this because it isn't forced or awkward (like when I try to develop my characters in my own writing), but it is subtle and flowing.

PAUSE: Catherine Fisher. WOW. I applaud you, though it probably means nothing because I am a freshman in high school, and this is a blog for my English class. I can't believe she does this so well. I promise you, this book is written with a style that is so unique, I can't put the book down. I can;t find the right words to describe it. I will edit later and put in words that sound really good.

All in all, Claudia and Finn are really cool characters. Yes, I know, such a lame adjective. I mean, who ever uses the word cool anymore? So, readers of my blog, I pose you one question that you should answer in the comments. Have you ever seen characters in a book that are similar to Claudia and Finn? If so, I need to know that book, because I'm going to need more reading material for winter break.

Thanks for reading!