This may not be you guys, it's just me. I'm just sayin', is all. Feel free to discuss.

Now that I've said it, however, I can't help but wonder: what if MY protagonist also has to save the world (my god, what a cliche) and she uses gifts at her disposal that, while they aren't unique, exactly, they ARE pivotal to her victory over evil (another cliche, but then, I'm full of them). Would that also alienate the reader?

Realizing he's just a Rambling Retard (but then, it's 2 o'clock in the morning, so...)
Chris

In that vein, I have it in mind to ridicule prophecy as a general theme at some point. I've seen this done in novels and have sometimes enjoyed this.

This could be a long topic. The truth is there are lots of different ways in which prophecy can be used, and sometimes the use is better than others. There are the "So and so is destined to save the world" prophecies which usually include an "or destroy it" clause just to attempt to add suspense. This doesn't work for me, I never feel fear that the hero will destroy the world. (Although I think that, too, should be done, maybe by me, maybe not. )

Authors use them to let the reader know what is supposed to happen. The reader knows that Character X is supposed to save the day, read anything by David Eddings.

IN the end it is not the character that the reader thinks will rule the world that does. Lots of twists and turns--not easy to write at all.

I don't mean an actual prophecy is referred to in the story, more I am talking about some weird non-understood "fate" that is invisible to the characters and maybe the reader, but still hints at having a profound influence on the course of events taken.

For example:
Harry Potter - Somehow he is the chosen one, he's the one who always ends up fighting the bad guy and he's the one who all of the events unfold atround. The way Jo portrays this is hardly coinicdental. Still no actually prognastication was made in the story. (to my knowledge)

Now a another example, Star Wars
A few characters were "chosen ones."

Both of the series have a strong following, or did. We believe part of that can be attributed because people like to leave reality and imagine themselves from the POV of someone who DOES matter, who DOES make a difference. The contrast from typical dull life is one many people like to throw them into.

Just a thought.

But that's only one kind of prophecy. Another kind of prophecy doesn't tell us that so-and-so is the Chosen One, but, rather, that so-and-so is going to do something bad, say, kill his father and marry his mother. The conflict in this kind of story is going to be more centered on the man vs. himself level -- how does the character respond to this kind of news?

Another point to consider -- and perhaps the most important point -- to put prophecy in your story automatically assumes a worldview that some Transcended Other (God, Fate, whatever) is ultimately in control of history and that history itself has direction. Depending on what kind of prophecy you put in your story, you will be implicitly saying, "life has no meaning," or "life has meaning," or "despite all things, we are ultimately in control of our own existence." Used by an infantile and un-philosophical author, you end up with crap like Eddings. Used by a mature thinker, you end up with Tolkien.

And by the way, using prophecy IS NOT a crutch. Try telling that to Sophocles and Shakespeare.

In any case, I'm not sure that series' popularity is due to the depiction of Harry as a "chosen one." What we actually ahve is a person who is special because he has already shown (by surviving an attack when he was a baby) that he is special. This is the opposite of prophecy, really.

quote:

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On the conflict level of man vs. man, we ask, will the anti-hero(s) succeed in overcoming the hero? On the conflict level of man vs. himself, we ask, will our hero overcome his faults, self-doubts, and own selfishness, and accept his destiny?

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The answers, in order, tend to be no and yes. That is why I find tales that rely too heavily on prophecy to be uninteresting.

That's not to say that it's useless or always bad. In fact, I've even seen it used just as Balthasar suggests and turned out rather good, but usually, something else is happening. There is some other reason to catch me up in the story, some other element of suspense driving me.

The question is whether or not the hero is interesting to watch. In fact, many of the most interesting insights that the writer has will often be displayed in the the development of the hero, not in the fulfillment of the hero's goals (and as I've heard someone say, we don't care whether Alvin builds the Crystal City...but we do care about Alvin). Or, it may be interesting to watch the plot develop, even if the characters don't, if it is in the right author's hands.

When I read the Iliad for the first time, I knew that eventually Achilles was going to quit pouting and kick the Trojans around. But that didn't make it any less interesting to watch it unfold. Similarly, in Crime and Punishment, I came in already knowing that Raskolnikov would murder the pawnshop owner, and eventually get caught and even more eventually repent. But what makes CaP a classic is the way in which Dostoevsky shows Raskolnikov's mind at work.

Prophecy, like all other techniques, can be used, but has a price in telegraphing material. You can certainly use it to your advantage - see Oedipus Rex. And you can also use it poorly.