Your Top 5 Knocked Off Characters
Good morning!! 
First of all, I want to thank everyone for all the comments and discussions that were started in my previous post. It was great reading your opinions and ideas, and I loved that you interacted with one another… KEEP IT GOING! After all, that’s what Word Out is all about; sharing your thoughts and ideas with your peers and not reading alone!
Your posts got me wondering about all the characters that have died in the books I have read, and morbid old me, started ranking them. I think the saddest for me where the deaths in the Harry Potter series, as those are some of my all time favourite books and movies. As I mentioned in my previous post, Dobby’s death made me really sad, both in the book and the movie. I pose two questions for you, the first, how does a death of a character differ for you depending on whether you are reading about it, or watching it on a screen. The second, which characters top your list of the saddest/most unexpected deaths? These could be good or bad characters, although I would be more interested in the good.
I also want to mention the book Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma. There was a death in there that caught me completely off guard. Not sure if any of you have read this one, but this books takes on a subject that is considered very taboo. It got really mixed reviews, which is the very reason I picked it up. If any of you have read it, I would love to get your opinions on it. I, for one, really liked the book, and even though the subject matter was considered taboo, I have to hand it to Ms. Suzuma for writing it and writing it so beautifully!
Now, to start the list… here are my top 5 character deaths (movie or book)
1. Dobby from Harry Potter
2. Dumbledore from Harry Potter
3. Charlotte from Charlotte’s Web
4. Mufasa from the Lion King (love that movie!)
5. Character from Forbidden (was not expecting that to happen!)
Who are yours?
14 thoughts on “Your Top 5 Knocked Off Characters”
1. Dumbledore from Harrry Potter
2. Thorin from The Hobbit
3. Dobby from Harry Potter
4. Finnick Odair from Mockingjay
5. Boxer from Animal Farm
Hi Hyerin, thanks for your picks! Did you find that these character deaths were portrayed differently in the book versus the movie? Did the medium (book vs. movie) affect the way you felt?
It is amazing how when a character in a book or movie has been around for a significant portion of that story that when they die, every fan goes hysterical. The list that I present of my top five character deaths I think everyone will be able to relate to in one way or another because of how special they are and how the authors brought them to life in a magical way.
1. Tris from Allegiant by: Veronica Roth
2. The Man from The Road by: Cormac McCarthy
3. Dobby from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by: J.K. Rowling
4. Prim from Mockingjay by: Suzanne Collins
5. Chuck from The Maze Runner by: James Dashner
Hi Joseph, great picks! I definitely was not expecting Tris to die… or Prim for that matter!
Boxer! It was so sad! Poor horse, he didn’t deserve it one bit. Of course I cried for Dobby way harder
Prim’s death was out of nowhere! She just glanced up and blew up! I re-read that section so many times before the words actually sunk in.
From my experience, the death of a character is sadder when it’s seen on a screen than when read from a book. I feel that the reason behind this could be the fact that even if the reader comprehends everything that occurs within the death scene while reading, he/she might choose not to visualize the scene, which will reduce the shock impact and sadness that comes with the death of the character. However, when watching a movie, the audience can visually see everything that is occurring within the scene, and because of this, they will feel a greater shock impact and more sadness evoked than readers who read death scenes without mentally visualizing them.
Fred Weasly from Harry Potter
Dumbledore from Harry Potter
Augustus Waters from The Fault in Our Stars
Tris Prior from The Divergent Series
Will from Divergent
1. Damon Salvatore from the Vampire Diaries
2. Dumbledore from Harry Potter
3. Augustus Waters from Fault In Our Stars
4. Sherlock from BBC Sherlock (he comes back to life but I get chills when he jumps every time)
5. Heckles from Friends.
The last one is weird but when Chandler said “Goodbye Mr. Heckles. We’ll try to keep it down”, I don’t know why but I was bawling.
1. Tris Prior from the Divergent series
2. Primrose Everdeen from the Hunger Games series
3. Jim Moriarty from BBC Sherlock (although he is coming back)
4. Sirius, Remus, and Tonks from the Harry Potter series
5. And every time the Doctor regenerates, it kind of like his old self is dying. It’s still sad.
Hi Marian, I agree with you. For me, part of it is that we have a face to put to the character, and the actor that plays the role is the one that we also get attached too. I really liked the boys that played the Weasley Twins in Harry Potter, and although I was sad when Fred died in the books, is was even sadder to watch him die on the big screen.
Thanks for your picks, Anupya! I didn’t finish reading the Vampire Diaries series, so I didn’t know about Damon’s death, but now I’m intrigued… I really liked his character!
Ah Friends… such a great show!
Great choices, Dani. Will from Divergent was a sad one.
Thanks for your post C.D. 🙂
I don’t watch Dr. Who, but it seems like an intriguing show. When he regenerates, does it do anything to him physically? Like make him weaker?