Fictional character

A fictional character is any person who appears in a work of fiction. More accurately, a fictional character is the person or conscious entity we imagine to exist within the world of such a work. In addition to people, characters can be aliens, animals, gods or, occasionally, inanimate objects. Characters are almost always at the center of fictional texts, especially novels and plays. It is, in fact, hard to imagine a novel or play without characters, though such texts have been attempted (James Joyce's Finnegans Wake is one of the most famous examples). In poetry, there is almost always some sort of person present, but often only in the form of a narrator or an imagined listener.

Iconic fictional characters

Some fictional characters are so famous that they can be references easily outside of the work from which they came, often because they have come to symbolize some archetype or ideal.

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Character

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Description

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Significance

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Alice

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The young heroine of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

Related Topics:
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll

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Symbolic of a naïve girl introduced into a strange, new world

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Batman

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DC Comics superhero created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger

Related Topics:
DC Comics - Superhero - Bob Kane - Bill Finger

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Symbol of mystery and heroism driven by a dark obsession

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Big Brother

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Iconic leader of the totalitarian state of Oceania in 1984 by George Orwell

Related Topics:
Totalitarian - Oceania - 1984 - George Orwell

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Term describing any propaganda symbol people are made to feverously love without sense or reason

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Bugs Bunny

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Carrot-chomping, Warner Brothers cartoon rabbit, known for the catch phrase ?What?s Up Doc??

Related Topics:
Carrot - Warner Brothers - Rabbit - Catch phrase

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Symbol of benign slyness and cunning

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Archie Bunker

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Character in the sitcom All in the Family

Related Topics:
Sitcom - All in the Family

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His name has become a term for bigot, especially an older one who maintains outdated attitudes

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Charlie Brown

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Child protagonist of the comic strip Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz

Related Topics:
Comic strip - Peanuts - Charles M. Schulz

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Prototypical lovable loser and chronic worrier

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Captain Ahab

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Sea captain from Moby Dick by Hermann Melville, who is on a never-ending quest to kill the title whale

Related Topics:
Moby Dick - Hermann Melville - Whale

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Often used to describe a person with a destructive, hate-driven and all-consuming quest

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Cinderella

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Title character from an age-old rags-to-riches fairy tale

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Term for anyone who rises from a meager, unhappy life into a more pleasant one; espeacially a woman who does so through a relationship with an elite man

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Darth Vader

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Villain and leader of the Galactic Empire in George Lucas?Star Wars films

Related Topics:
Villain - Galactic Empire - George Lucas - Star Wars

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Symbol of evil, heartlessness and supreme power

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Don Quixote

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Title character from Miguel Cervantes' novel; believed he was a chivalric knight although he was actually a self-deluded buffoon

Related Topics:
Miguel Cervantes - Knight

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Symbol of dedication to achieving one's goals in spite of all obstacles, especially reality; source of adjective "quixotic"

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Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

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Title characters from the novel by Robert Louis Stevenson; due to a wayward experience the quiet scientist Jekyll would transform into the malicious Hyde

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Refers to anyone particularly two-faced, especially with one bad and one good side

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Dracula

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Title vampire from Bram Stoker?s horror novel

Related Topics:
Vampire - Bram Stoker - Horror

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Archetypal vampire, a metaphor for any person, thing or idea that is life or energy-draining

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Hamlet

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Protagonist of William Shakespeare play of the same name

Related Topics:
Protagonist - William Shakespeare

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Symbol of any brooding, angry young man with a willingness to accost others

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Holden Caulfield

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Protagonist of The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger

Related Topics:
The Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger

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Symbol of troubled, cynical young men

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Homer Simpson

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Character from the animated sitcom The Simpsons, created by Matt Groening

Related Topics:
Animated - Sitcom - The Simpsons - Matt Groening

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Often used to refer to a stereotypical American, adult male

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Huckleberry Finn

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Runaway youth featured in several works by Mark Twain

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Symbol of anyone with an exceedingly simple moral code, especially one that clashes with larger society

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Ivan-durak (in Russian means "Ivan the stupid")

Related Topics:
Ivan-durak - Russian

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Fairy tale character; son of a peasant who, unlike his brothers, is regarded is kind but slow-witted

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Symbol of an intellectually simple person who triumphs in the end through sincerity and kindness

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Indiana Jones

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Globe-trotting archaeologist in a series of films by George Lucas and Steven Spielberg

Related Topics:
Archaeologist - George Lucas - Steven Spielberg

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Symbol of high adventure

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James Bond

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Secret agent from a series of novels by Ian Fleming and a long-running series films

Related Topics:
Secret agent - Novel - Ian Fleming

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Used to describe anyone who is suave, charming, clever and attractive to women; inspiration to countless movie spies

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King Arthur

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Legendary British king; maybe not entirely fictional

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Epitome of righteousness, justice and virtue

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Lolita

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Nickname of the 12-year-old girl from Vladimir Nabokov's novel of the same name

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Name for any young girl involved with an older man

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Macbeth

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Title character from William Shakespeare play

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Symbolic of anyone undone by a drive for power

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Ophelia

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Character in the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare. One-time love interest of the title character; she who drowns, possible by suicide

Related Topics:
Hamlet - William Shakespeare - Suicide

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Term used to describe any troubled and mentally unstable young woman

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Prince Charming

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Prince from the fairy tale Sleeping Beauty by Charles Perrault

Related Topics:
Fairy tale - Sleeping Beauty - Charles Perrault

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Term for any handsome, charismatic and ideal male suitor

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Robin Hood

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Outlaw from British legend who "steals from the rich to give to the poor"

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Archetypical ?outlaw hero? who fights the wealthy and powerful for the sake of the poor and helpless.

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Romeo and Juliet

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Title couple from William Shakespeare's play of the same name, lovers whose marriage is forbidden by a family rivalry.

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Their names are used to describe any passionate pair of young lovers, especially one whose love is doomed or forbidden

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Ebenezer Scrooge

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Wealthy, ill-tempered old man from A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens Term used to describe anyone miserly and uncharitable

Related Topics:
A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens

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Sherlock Holmes

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Detective from several stories by Arthur Conan Doyle

Related Topics:
Detective - Arthur Conan Doyle

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Figure representing the power of observation and reason in the cause of justice.

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Mr. Spock

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Character the television series ', a Vulcan/human hybrid

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Symbol of logic and reason over passion and emotion

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Superman

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DC Comics superhero created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster

Related Topics:
DC Comics - Superhero - Jerry Siegel - Joe Shuster

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Archetypical superhero, modern messiah figure and a symbol of unstoppable good

Related Topics:
Archetypical - Superhero - Messiah

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Uncle Tom

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Character in Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe, a black slave who is docile and obidient

Related Topics:
Uncle Tom's Cabin - Harriet Beecher Stowe - Slave

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Term for a person who is a disgrace to his or her race, especially African Americans who act in a stereotypical manner or act to please the "white establisment"

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Wile E. Coyote

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Warner Brothers cartoon character who constantly tries and fails to kill the Road Runner

Related Topics:
Warner Brothers - Cartoon - Road Runner

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Symbol of dedication in the face of futility

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Yoda

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Mentor of hero Luke Skywalker in George Lucas? Star Wars film series

Related Topics:
Mentor - Luke Skywalker - George Lucas - Star Wars

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Commonly used example of a mysterious and wise mentor)

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