1 Dimensional Characters
Most movies that I have seen have just 1 dimensional characters. There are heroes and there are villains. I am using heroes and villains to represent the two stark characters in most of our stores. They don’t necessarily have to be harbingers of good and evil respectively. Just that they stand for different things in life. In real life it’s hard to imagine existence of any one of them. A better way to examine such a situation would be to take any seemingly good story of black and white and turn into a description from two different vantage point. So, here we go.
Sam and Mary
“Disappointment in store for me again. I worked so hard these past 2 years and I can’t seem to get past an exam which everyone expected me too. I remember myself sitting in that examination room using all the memory I had at my disposal. Working my way through everything the exam had to throw at me. But still. I don’t know where I let up. I don’t know what did I do wrong. There are several fleeting moments where I doubt myself. I am trying really hard to dispel them. I don’t want to get lost in that pit of self pity. But it got really hard when I came to know Mary got through. I sacrificed parties. She didn’t. I forgo of any meandering social company. She didn’t. I stayed away from my home. She didn’t. I worked hard! She didn’t! I lost! She won! I guess that’s what they call luck. I always had this dream. I would be the family doctor for my family, helping people that don’t get help in this world. I have seen too many people of knowledge not helping out of the people they are supposed to in the name of “I can’t help anyone”. That dream which I nurtured like my most beloved plant is now all but withered and dying. I can’t even cry because that just reaffirms how much I lost. Maybe I don’t have lucky enough stars to be successful. Maybe I will just get lost in anonymity among this crowd of billion people.”
“I am numb right now. Those past two years which all seemed like a fading image in a rear mirror are now fresh like glowing amber. Illuminating each moment of thoughtlessness, carefreeness, misery, self doubt, despondency and hard work. I made far too many mistakes but I didn’t listen. I lost support of everyone near me but I didn’t pay any heed to it. I partied, I indulged myself in increasing my social circle (it’s not as important as I thought it was), I did everything to escape away from my real ambition. Everyone around me was working their asses off and I was busy making fun of them over a round drinks. Every. Single. Day. I was pathetic. I went in to write my first exam with little or no preparation at all thinking that’s all just something I didn’t want or care about. Unsurprisingly I did horribly. As I was coming out of that examination room, I remembered 2 year younger me. The one who always wanted to help her grandmother with her medical ailment because she didn’t find any doctor satisfactory except her little Mary. There were tears in my eyes. I didn’t fear failure but I feared that I would disappointing someone so close to my heart. I had 1 month before the next exam. Fear was my biggest motivator. I did the impossible in that 1 month. It don’t know if it was luck or hard work but I have self belief now. There were a lot of people with me who tried really hard but couldn’t get through. Getting ahead of them makes me feel a little special. But maybe I got more than deserved. That feeling is more pronounced when I see Sam.”
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Originally published at devashish.quora.com.
