In the wonderful world of writing, a CHARACTER PARADOX is an element in a character that conflicts with other elements of that character.
In her book, Creating Unforgettable Characters, Linda Seger quotes novelist Leonard Tourney, “paradoxes are the crux of fascinating characters: Characters are more interesting if they are made of mixed stuff, if they contain warring elements.”
So, we just got done talking about consistency. Now we’re going to talk about contradiction? How does that work?
Google defines a PARADOX as “a seemingly absurd or self-contradictory statement or proposition that when investigated or explained, may prove to be well founded or true.”
Now for some examples. Yep, you guessed right, let’s take a look at LOGAN and STAR WARS.
The Character Paradox of Logan and James Howlett.
In Logan, the main character, LOGAN, is an aging warrior burdened by the mental ailments from years of combat. At the beginning of the movie, we find him moonlighting as a limo driver. When a gang of thugs try to steal his hub caps, he slaughters them. He takes some hits as well but keeps on moving.
We then follow Logan back to his compound where he stops at a hospital on the way. He uses the money he made overnight to pay a nurse for some stolen prescription drugs. We are meant to think the drugs are for him. It’s the obvious conclusion for a guy clearly headed towards death.
But then we arrive at Logan’s compound. We find a dying CHARLES XAVIER in a hospital bed. Logan opens the bag and gives the medication to Charles. Logan still has blood on his hands from killing the thugs earlier, yet he is tender with Charles. He even carries his dying mentor in his arms.
The CHARACTER PARADOX introduced is Logan’s soft side. In the first ten minutes, all we saw was Logan’s gruff side as he uses his hand and claws to slash some bad guys. But with Charles, he uses his hands to comfort and help. Gruff Logan is what we paid to see. Soft Logan is what makes us like him even more than ever before.
Another PARADOX we discover is the picture Logan keeps in his visor of a sailboat. Logan is not someone who keeps sentimental things. We soon learn Logan wants to retire on it. He wants to get away and bring Charles with him.
Won’t PARADOX ruin consistency?
Linda Seger states, “PARADOXES do not negate the consistencies, they simply add to them.” She then goes on to describe a religion professor she had in college who was reserved and quiet, but when he discussed the topic of religion, he was very expressive, passionate, and anything but reserved. It was his PARADOX, and it showed more about who he was than anything she noticed.
What is Luke Skywalker’s Character Paradox?
In Star Wars, LUKE is an uninitiated, optimistic farm boy, who we might think is too naïve for life off the farm. Luke’s PARADOX is simple but not so obvious. His PARADOX is that he treats R2D2 and C-3PO like they are humans.
Now, you might be wondering how this is even a PARADOX? Luke is already a nice guy; how can being nicer be different. It’s a paradox because it doesn’t make sense. The droids are non-biological. They aren’t human. Darth Vader wears a suit and breathes funny, but he is still human. So are the Stormtroopers. The Jawas are aliens, but even they are more human than the droids are.
I admit, calling this a CHARACTER PARADOX is a bit on the fringe. Maybe we could call it a PLOT PARADOX. Needless to say, it’s a paradox because Luke talks to these seemingly soulless objects like they are his equals. None of the other characters do this. Yes, even Leia!
Until R2 and 3PO meet Luke, everyone treats them as objects. Even in the middle of the opening battle scene, they’re ignored. However, Luke is interested in everything they have to say. When R2 goes wandering, Luke trudges off into the open wild of the desert in search of him.
What’s the point of using a character paradox?
Screenwriter and writing instructor Cindy Davis points out that a PARADOX should be presented in the first 10 minutes of meeting our protagonist. According to Davis, the CHARACTER PARADOX always relates to the plot. The example she uses is in the movie, Erin Brockovich. Erin dresses like a bimbo but is incredibly intelligent. Her bimbo persona is introduced first. Then her intelligence is introduced. Bimbo Erin carries on until something happens and Intelligent Erin steps in to answer the call to action.
Gruff Logan introduces the story in Logan. Then we meet Soft Logan. Gruff Logan caries on for a while as he rejects his call to action. Finally, Soft Logan responds and decides to help Laura.
In the opening minutes of Star Wars, we meet Naïve Luke. Then the droids show up, and we meet Caring Luke. Naïve Luke carries on until something happens and Caring Luke steps in to answer Luke’s first call to action, which is to find R2.
George Lucas uses Luke’s attitude toward the droids to 1) signal that Luke is the protagonist in the story. And 2) to increase the impact of Luke’s decision to go after R2. It gives a reason behind Luke’s decision.
Chasing down R2 would not be as believable if Luke didn’t care about the droids. For a reference point, look at how Uncle Owen reacts when he finds out Luke went after R2. He doesn’t care; he just wants Luke to get his work done for the day.
When Luke trudges off to save R2, he shows us he is a worthy friend who will do what he needs to do to protect his friends. This character trait will carry Luke to the final battle at the Death Star. His commitment to his friends is also the trait that works against Luke in The Empire Strikes Back.
Can we give our antagonist and subplot characters PARADOXES?
The short answer is yes; you should give your antagonist and subplot characters a PARADOX! Linda Seger refers to the movie Airplane to show this. In the movie, there is a grandma who speaks jive and a nun who’s not afraid to knock some sense into a panicking woman. Both help the plot and keep the jokes coming. Linda also points to the villain in The Living Daylights who likes to play with toy soldiers.
Giving an antagonist, or subplot character, a PARADOX can help establish audience empathy just like it would for a protagonist. Or maybe give the audience reason to keep watching. Or to land a joke.
A villain with a PARADOX is realistic. And a realistic villain is much easier to believe or empathize with when the audience can see a shred of humanity in them.
What about Does Darth Vader? Does he have a Paradox?
We probably learn the most about DARTH VADER in THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK. And what we get is a huge piece of PARADOX pie.
Vader is calculating, diabolic, and twisted; yet he bows in submission to his master. He is reverent to the Emperor. The fact that pure evil has a boss is even scarier than pure evil itself.
Maybe Vader isn’t as bad as we thought he was. No, he’s worse. Much worse. He’s so evil he kills Admirals and Generals for minor infractions and mistakes. He hires bounty hunters when he thinks his people are too incompetent. Whenever the Emperor calls though, Vader drops everything and fully submits.
One thing to note before I go on. Vader’s chamber is not his PARADOX. The scene where we see Vader’s uncovered head is meant to give us context to Vader’s scars. It humanizes him and gives magnitude to his persona. But it is not a CHARACTER PARADOX.
More examples of CHARACTER PARADOXES from Star Wars.
When it was released, Star Wars was light years ahead of the industry. But its story craft was in line with all the greats. Here are a few more PARADOXES George gave us.
LEIA is a beautiful young princess, but she has no fear when face to face with VADER. She’s heroic AND pretty while doing it.
TARKIN is eloquent and commanding, everything you want in a leader. He is also utterly evil and domineering.
HAN SOLO is selfish, but he baby’s his ship and doesn’t go anywhere without his sidekick, Chewbacca.
Final Thoughts.
Figuring out your character’s PARADOX is just as important as getting your outline right. Whitewashed characters make for boring stories. Audiences can easily disengage. Don’t get me wrong, it’s possible not to have a CHARACTER PARADOX, there are plenty of examples of that. A PARADOX is simply a tool available to you. It can be a tool you use frequently or sparsely. Either way, doing it right can make the difference between an iconic character and a forgettable one.