The Handmaid's Tale
by Margaret Atwood
In the Forge of Worlds: Character Evolution
Have you ever read a novel that takes you from place to place and as the character travels they grow, or change based on the environment?
Let me give you some examples.
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins takes you from District 12 to 1 then back out again to 13. Each district influences the character arc of Katniss Everdeen as she becomes a symbol of rebellion and survival.
Since I recently saw Dune 2 in the IMAX theater (wow), here is a tribute to Dune by Frank Herbert. Paul Atreides travels from Caladan, an all-water planet, to the desert planet Arrakis. The valuable resource, spice, harvested on Arrakis profoundly affects the character arc of Paul as he rises to power, facing political intrigue and personal transformation. The latest movie version is sic!
While both of these novels introduce world-building, one uses political systems, and the other environmental issues. Many novels design world-building that ultimately affects the protagonist and how the arc progresses. Some examples are:
- Religious beliefs (The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood).
- Geographical regions (All of Tolkien lore).
- Cultural norms and expectations (Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen).
- Economic systems (The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck).
- Technology and magic (The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan in his epic Wheel of Time series or Mistborn: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson).
The Handmaid's Tale
In my upcoming novel Trena, the Memory Reader, her god Cavel has gifted her the ability to read the worst memories from people. She has to grapple with the capability, the conflicts, and the morality of this gift.
Here is a short scene:
Trena pushed back the visor and looked into his eyes.
In that moment they collided she found his mind pristine clear, focused solely on a woman. A beautiful woman with long flowing auburn hair and green eyes. She was so pretty Trena caught her breath. In a few moments, she saw an exchange, the white stone he’d been given, for some coins, from a robed Mage. The stone held embedded within, a single strand of long red hair of the woman, taken without her knowledge. The spell ensured she would remain free of any other until his return from his travels and gave it to her. Trena felt an anger build from the deceit. How dare he bend the woman’s life to suit his desire. She almost broke away from the vision as she felt he was not worthy of granting him such a gift. But then she watched as one of the foreign brutes roughly tethered the man. His stone was taken and put in a metal container by his capturer. Then the cruelty began. Fisted back cuffs, stomach punches, continuous unrelenting punishment. Trena tried to swallow through the pain and suffering, only wincing and gasping sounded from her as she watched the ugly enjoyment of the act revealed on the one that produced the pain. She could not plug her senses from this man’s helplessness. While he lied with his deceit, he did not deserve such a punishment. He remained tied throughout the beating, denying him the ability to defend or fight. That mindful cruelty was beyond any she’d ever witnessed.
She shuddered at the horror and tried to tamper down the awful visage by remembering some peace from her life in the beautiful high hills and the low murmur of the sheep she’d often enjoyed as she roamed on the mountainside of her home. The visions retelling of his beating seemed less cruel against that of her pure love of her mountain living. When she could take no more of the evil being dealt, she jerked her visor down and broke the vision.
“The fields of the mountain are lovely,” he whispered.
Trena was puzzled at his words. With her ‘sight’ open she had somehow revealed her own to him. She did not wholly understand this, but he seemed calmer, more still.
The Final Empire
by Brandon Sanderson
I hope you got something from this blog and will study your world-building techniques to allow the protagonists to become who they need to be. Through the careful crafting of societies, cultures, technologies, magic systems, and more, authors have the power to shape the journeys and arcs of their protagonists in profound ways. The dynamic interplay between world-building and character development enriches storytelling, inviting readers to travel on immersive journeys where the boundaries of imagination are explored, and the human experience is vividly illuminated.
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JL Nich, Science Fiction Fantasy Author
