1. Jayesh Sinha

    Jayesh Sinha Member

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    Need help with a tipping point incident for a character outlook to alter

    Discussion in 'Character Development' started by Jayesh Sinha, Jun 23, 2020.

    Long story short, I have a key character in a story, who is poor but is a principled person and doesn't overvalue money. He feels money is used by the rich, like a bone to a dog to bend the poor to their will and if the poor learn to be contented with what they have or atleast not have an money at all cost attitude that is the best way to get self-respect.

    However as the story moves he becomes greedy and feels that he was wrong and that money is all important.

    I am struggling to find a convincing tipping point that would make this transition possible for him. Feel there need to be two three incidents which force this change of outlook.

    Please help outline potential issues which could be used to nudge the character and the narrative in this direction.
     
  2. big soft moose

    big soft moose An Admoostrator Admin Staff Supporter Contributor Community Volunteer

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    I'd suggest that his attitude changes when he gets some money... its very easy to feel that money doesn't matter when you haven't got any
     
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  3. Steve Rivers

    Steve Rivers Contributor Contributor

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    Possible ideas that my meager imagination came up with.
    1) A new character. Someone who is rich, but gains the MCs respect through an action or attitude to make the MC see things in a new light.
    2) An incident that harms the character through not having money.
    -The MC loses someone important to them, someone that could have been saved with an operation say (as an example) but the MC couldn't afford it.
    -Or a girlfriend who leaves because she doesnt want the same poor life as he does.
    3) A tipping point? Perhaps another character who does everything completely wrong or the opposite of the MC, then gets the rewards while the MC has done everything right and it comes as a gut punch. Or one of the ones in #2


    Or maybe a combination of the above. I was just spitballing really.
    Unfortunately, I dont know enough about your story to have more specific ideas.
     
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  4. GraceLikePain

    GraceLikePain Senior Member

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    Maybe have him encounter a nice person with money. Or maybe meet a business owner who uses his wealth in generous ways. Or learns that the "corrupt" businessmen he's been railing against provide jobs for people, especially for those who don't want to pour all their time into being entrepreneurs -- the people who want a 9-5 that doesn't necessarily pay the best, but enables them to have time with their family.

    I'm gonna be real, I don't agree with the character's standpoint. I strongly feel that to think all rich people are bad is a form of bigotry. While there are logical reasons to distrust some rich people, I feel like it's more emotionally mature to judge based on actions, not preconceptions. A lot of rich people in fact get rich doing what they like for their interest's sake, rather than specifically the money. But for the sake of your character, I'll go ahead and say that perhaps you don't need a "tipping point." Maybe just some moments of growth. Or maybe a business/economics class.
     
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  5. The_Joker

    The_Joker Banned

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    Maybe he was originally honest in his convictions, but it could just as well have been a coping mechanism - he just wanted to feel morally superior. Do more people than just him believe in his 'cause'? Could be a play on how communism played out in the Soviet Union. As soon as the vanguard of the Bolsheviks tasted real power, they became they very thing they claimed to have always hated, and betrayed many of their allies. Could be used for some drama to that effect.
     
  6. Thorn Cylenchar

    Thorn Cylenchar Senior Member

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    Have him encounter a situation where money would have allowed him to help someone else-Best friends young daughter getting sick and dying as they cannot afford treatment, friend getting in trouble with gangs/card sharks where if he could have helped friend pay, friend wouldn't have been hurt/killed.

    This would allow him to justify the change in his mind. 'If I had money I would do X so Y wouldn't have to suffer.'
     
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  7. Antaus

    Antaus Active Member

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    There are a number of ways you can go with that. You can always do the slow descent. For example the character comes into money somehow and is still a good guy at first. Then he makes a small compromise here, another there, and before he knows it he's become the very thing he dislikes. At that point he could also be so far gone he doesn't care anymore. He could become rich and after experiencing the rich life, comes to enjoy it a little too much. See rationalization is a very dangerous thing. He could hurt someone and then rationalize it as something he had to do, thus shifting blame away from himself and thereby justifying his actions and maintaining the moral high ground in his own mind. It's like they often say, the villain sees himself as the hero of his own story most of the time. Or he's just bat sh-t crazy and doesn't care.
     
  8. Katan McAvey

    Katan McAvey New Member

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    Maybe a situation where having money would've helped him out of a hole. That point of Oh man, I could've fixed that if only... could be a push that the MC needs to reevaluate things
     
  9. plante

    plante New Member

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    I think you need to consider what is fundamentally important to the character. Then deny or impact that need in a way that can be resolved by money. Make it so the MC has little choice but to rethink his relationship with money, and from that comes an evolution in thought that alters desires and actions, for good or bad.
     

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