Heros who are dupes

TheRob1 · Feb 15, 2012

So, I've been working on a scene in my current wip. The MC is exploring some ruins and searching them for treasures left behind by a long-gone civilization. Up to this point this has been a tangent within the story that really didn't relate too much to the plot. However, I had the idea suddenly for a way to attach this to the main plot. A large part of the story revolves around a ritual, which is incomplete. It's possible that the ruins themselves could be a focal point for the ritual or that they might contain some item necessary for the completion of the ritual.

This means that the MC would start out working for the bad guys. To be honest, I'm not a fan of that. Now, a large part of my distaste for this particular trope comes from my roots in fantasy roleplaying games, where on several occasions my friend's and I found our characters suddenly and w/out warning that we had actually been working for the bad guys and were the cause of the all of the grief we were about to be dealing with. I think part of what I hated about this was the lack of foreshadowing on the part of the DMs in those games. There were never any clues that we were working for the bad guys. It just suddenly happened.

I guess I'd feel better about the situation if I made the hero a little suspicious of his employer. The other option (I just thought of) is that the employer/bad guy could be a dupe for the real villain.

So, I really need some feed back on this: Should my MC be working for the bad guy? Should he know or suspect something? What would you do?

Springs · Feb 15, 2012

I think that it would be more interesting if the MC wasn't suspicious of his employer, because to me that would just give everything away, and I, personally, prefer surprises. I'm not saying that foreshadowing is off-limits, it's just that the best foreshadowing (in my opinion, anyway) is the kind that stares the reader right in the face but is completely overlooked until the surprise is revealed, at which point the reader realized just how dense he/she was. If the MC were to suspect the employer, the reader would, too, and that would take some of the fun out of the surprise.

That's just my opinion, though. Different people like different things. I would suggest maybe working through the different options in your head and seeing if any make more interesting plots than the others (for example, an MC that's suspicious of his employer will act differently than one who trusts his employer blindly. What interesting situations might each situation get him into?).

kuwisdelu · Feb 15, 2012

"The bad guy" is all relative. From your description, I have no idea why your bad guy is bad, or what exactly the good side does. How you handle it really should depend on what makes your "bad" guy "bad" and why the "hero" starts out with them.

SBibb · Feb 15, 2012

Springs said:
it's just that the best foreshadowing (in my opinion, anyway) is the kind that stares the reader right in the face but is completely overlooked until the surprise is revealed,

I agree. I think it could be interesting that the employers are a bad guy and we don't know it, as long as there a little, unsuspicous hints that have it make sense once we look back at it.

Lhipenwhe · Feb 15, 2012

TheRob1 said:
So, I really need some feed back on this: Should my MC be working for the bad guy? Should he know or suspect something? What would you do?

I'd first ask if my character was intelligent enough to question the situation. Assuming he is, you'll need to carefully go over all the hints you've made, and determine how much he can extrapolate from all of it. And from your two options, I'll propose a third option: What if both your MC and the person he's working for are wrong about the ritual? You can even make the employer 'good', so everyone involved gets in trouble after the MC accidentally summons a horrible abomination.

owlion · Feb 15, 2012

I think it would be interesting, especially if written so there were only the tiniest clues to the bad guy being bad. Mystery makes things more interesting, I find.

I've also done something kind of similar in my novel, with the bad guy being morally ambiguous rather than outright evil and the good guys also having some morality issues.

DeleyanLee · Feb 15, 2012

My first thought was: "Even Indiana and Henry Jones got duped and they still came out as heroes."

While I understand your distaste, I think it's more in how it's handled than the event itself. Of course, as a reader, if my hero(es) are duped, I want them to win all the bigger at the end.

gothicangel · Feb 16, 2012

DeleyanLee said:
My first thought was: "Even Indiana and Henry Jones got duped and they still came out as heroes."

While I understand your distaste, I think it's more in how it's handled than the event itself. Of course, as a reader, if my hero(es) are duped, I want them to win all the bigger at the end.

I agree. In my current WIP, my MC is duped romantically. Just because a character is duped, doesn't make him 'to stupid to live.'

Rhoda Nightingale · Feb 16, 2012

I'm fuzzy on the good/bad issue too. What's bad about your hero's employers wanting him to find this relic? Are they using it for monetary gain? And if so, is it simple greed that's compelling them, or are they desperate for cash and out of ideas? Or are they historians/archeologists wanting to preserve this piece of culture before it gets lost? Would that still be "bad?"

I think the issue you're really up against here is that you want your hero's morals to conflict with his employers'. In order for that to happen though, you need to build up the motivation of both sides a bit more. All my MCs are morally ambiguous at best. Hell, one of mine might go digging for lost treasure without an employer telling him to, because he is that desperate and greedy.

Buffysquirrel · Feb 16, 2012

You seem to be projecting your own anger and other negative feelings at having been duped onto your character without realising how much those feelings could fuel your story and make it real for the reader.

A reader who's engaged with your character won't think less of them for being duped, unless they act incredibly stupidly. They will sympathise with them. They will be angry *on their behalf*. Use your own experiences to develop your character's response in ways that will drive his future actions.

My protagonist's insane jealousy drives away the one person who could help him, with disastrous consequences. But if there were no consequences, he'd never realise he has to learn not to be controlled by his jealousy. It's an opportunity for character growth.

TheRob1 · Feb 16, 2012

Buffysquirrel said:
You seem to be projecting your own anger and other negative feelings at having been duped onto your character without realising how much those feelings could fuel your story and make it real for the reader.

A reader who's engaged with your character won't think less of them for being duped, unless they act incredibly stupidly. They will sympathise with them. They will be angry *on their behalf*. Use your own experiences to develop your character's response in ways that will drive his future actions.

My protagonist's insane jealousy drives away the one person who could help him, with disastrous consequences. But if there were no consequences, he'd never realise he has to learn not to be controlled by his jealousy. It's an opportunity for character growth.

Thanks for that. I think as a reader I'd want some clue, so I'll probably hint to the reader that something's fishy, but keep it from the mc. Hopefully, by showing the mc as a genuinely good guy (w/ a few flaws) who gets taken advantage I can get the reader to rally behind him later when he goes on a rampage.

lbender · Feb 16, 2012

The hero who's temporarily duped into working for or with the bad guy is not at all uncommon. Indiana Jones has already been mentioned. Nicholas Cage, in National Treasure, is another. As long as the hero comes through in the end, it's fine.

dangerousbill · Feb 16, 2012

TheRob1 said:
This means that the MC would start out working for the bad guys. To be honest, I'm not a fan of that.

The best novels contain character development. What better development than to start out dumb and inadvertently evil, and become smart and try to correct the trouble you've caused?

Heros who are dupes

TheRob1

Trained by the soft master

Springs

kuwisdelu

Revolutionize the World

SBibb

Lhipenwhe

Moving with my soul, step by step

owlion

Absorbing inspiration from the moon

DeleyanLee

Writing Anarchist

gothicangel

Toughen up.

Rhoda Nightingale

Vampire Junkie

Buffysquirrel

TheRob1

Trained by the soft master

lbender

dangerousbill

Retired Illuminatus