Wednesday, August 17, 2005
The Mentor as a Character
What is a mentor? The name "Mentor" comes from Homer's The Odyssey. Mentor was a character who guided Telemachus on the journey to find his father. But the function of a mentor dates to the earliest beginning of time. God, in the Garden of Eden, mentored Adam and Eve by teaching and training them how to live. He instructed them in wisdom and gave them gifts to help them in life--the chief role of a mentor.
A character who instructs, motivates, guides, coaches, watches over, or gives gifts to the protagonist functions at that moment as a mentor in the story. This role is always based in an emotional relationship. The power of the mentor's influence is directly proportional to the emotional strength of his/her relationship with the protagonist. So, if a character attempts to assume this role without sufficient interpersonal foundation laid in advance, the result could be rebellion on the part of the protagonist.
The role of Mentor is so powerful that whole stories can be structured around one. Shane and Goodbye, Mr. Chips are examples of stories energized by the central figure of a mentor character.
A single character can perform as a mentor throughout the story, or several characters can share this function. A character can even slide in and out of this role, or gradually grow into it over the course of the story. Age, appearance, or gender is not a limitation. A mentor doesn't even have to be a person. The mentor can take the shape of any conduit of wisdom available to the protagonist; for example, the Bible. Action is the only requirement for a character (or thing) to don the cloak of Mentor.
Next, how stories benefit from mentor characters...
A character who instructs, motivates, guides, coaches, watches over, or gives gifts to the protagonist functions at that moment as a mentor in the story. This role is always based in an emotional relationship. The power of the mentor's influence is directly proportional to the emotional strength of his/her relationship with the protagonist. So, if a character attempts to assume this role without sufficient interpersonal foundation laid in advance, the result could be rebellion on the part of the protagonist.
The role of Mentor is so powerful that whole stories can be structured around one. Shane and Goodbye, Mr. Chips are examples of stories energized by the central figure of a mentor character.
A single character can perform as a mentor throughout the story, or several characters can share this function. A character can even slide in and out of this role, or gradually grow into it over the course of the story. Age, appearance, or gender is not a limitation. A mentor doesn't even have to be a person. The mentor can take the shape of any conduit of wisdom available to the protagonist; for example, the Bible. Action is the only requirement for a character (or thing) to don the cloak of Mentor.
Next, how stories benefit from mentor characters...
