Characters!

• I'm currently reading Locke & Key : Welcome to Lovecraft by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez. In this graphic novel there are two main protagonists, Tyler and Bode Locke. Tyler is a teenage boy and Bode is his little brother, they both move to their father's childhood home, Lovecraft, after he is killed. Even though Bode is younger, the novel's target age range is teenagers and young adults, because of the graphic violence. Tyler draws readers in because he feels his father's death is his fault, so following his torment through the story allows readers to connect with him on a deeper emotional level. His weakness is that he takes the blame for everything without knowing all the facts, so he mopes around a lot. His strength is that he can overlook this in times when the rest of his family needs him. 
  
• Bode on the other hand appeals to readers because of his innocence and his outlook on his situation. His strength is that he doesn't view death as a bad thing from an early age, which gives him the ability  to objectively look at what's going at Lovecraft during the story. His weakness is that he is too trusting at first, but he eventually overcomes this. There are also two antagonists Sam Lesser and the echo. Sam is working for the echo after seeing it in a picture in Tyler's dad's office. He antagonizes Tyler's family, killing Mr. Locke, and later attacking the rest of his family in search of the anywhere key for the echo. Sam's weakness is that he has completely given himself over to the echo and won't stop at anything to complete his task. His strength is that he never gives up, which is what is causing the Lockes so many problems. He appeals to the reader because from the start he is the evil force, and as we learn that he isn't working for his own motives necessarily the reader wants to find out where he is going and what will happen to him. 
  
• The echo is an interesting character because it appears to both Bode and Sam but acts differently towards both of them. For Sam she is the person who rescues him for jail and recruits him to help her escape the well she is stuck in. While with Bode she is someone to talk to when no one else will listen. Her weakness is that she can't leave the well house through the front door so she needs the anywhere key. Her strength is that she can get people to do things for her, even when they don't really want to. She appeals to the reader because she is mysterious, strange, and we don't know very much about her, so the reader wants to find out who she is and what she wants.
  
• The situation that these characters are in is familiar, but the reason is different with each character. With Tyler it's familiar because we have all suffered some sort of loss or felt like we were to blame for some sort of event in our life. Bode's situation is familiar because there have been times in everyone's life where no would listen to them, so when they found someone to talk to they tend to be extremely trusting and open. Sam is harder to relate to, but his situation is familiar in the fact that we've all wanted to please someone at any cost. The echo is familiar to people who manipulate others because that's what the echo does, is manipulate Bode and Sam both.