It seems to me that the trend for chicks falling in lust with pricks is ever-growing in YA lit. Why? I mean, sure. Chicks go for the bad boys all the time but not too many wait around to get to that heart of gold that's supposedly on the inside. Why would they? Why would a girl stick with a guy that treats her like shit? Without broaching the abuse conversation that could spurn from this, I'm just talking about what we see in YA lit. The chicks aren't getting the shit beaten out of them but apparently they're turned on by being stalked, verbally abused, pushed away and pretty much spit on. God, how appealing.
The most recent prick I ran into was what's his name? Will? From Clockwork Angel. What a douche he was. Ice Man to a T. Chastised the hell out of Tessa. Cold-shouldered her for no reason. Spoke to her like a lesser. And yet here she was getting googly-eyed for him. Why? Because something happened to him in his past that made him like that?
Horseshit. Everyone has skeletons. It's not an excuse to treat people like shit stuck to the bottom of your shoe. So you have daddy issues or mommy issues. Deal with it and move on. Don't take it out on the people around you because man, will you be one lonely jerk at the end of the day. But of course, the people in stories like these actually tolerate the way these characters act. The characters in Clockwork Angel just accept his dour demeanor as part of his personality. Awesome. You can find better personality dredged from the bottom of the East River. I'm sure there's an epic reason why Will is allowed to stick around (as is Clare's ability to pull these kinds of transparent things) but in reality, who would bother without smacking the kid around to knock the craptastic attitude out of him?
And it's not just limited to boys. Of course we couldn't talk about assholes without the bitchy popular girl that all the girls want to be like and all the boys want to date/fuck. I'm sure better holes could be plugged by carving out a watermelon. Why? So she may or may not be hot. Her male counterpart is the same way. Usually the BETTER a person's personality is, the better looking they are to someone. The shittier the personality, the shittier the looks of the person. That's usually how it works.
Then again I never really understood the whole alpha thing when it came to cliques. You have this one person, be it boy or girl, ordering people around as if they're his or her minions and people follow. Why? One simple about face by the group and the alpha is dead. Why give that one person the power? Especially if he or she is a shit?
So I ask, is it possible to have a guy or girl attracted to someone that isn't a worthless prick? Because really, just how attractive are they?
11 comments:
Okay, thank you for being honest about this. I agree with you and everything you pretty much said. Personally, for me, if a guy treats me like that -- and it doesn't even matter if they have a "suffering heart" deep inside -- I will leave and move on, just like that. Why would I waste my time? Life's too short to be treated badly, as they say.
Another boy I really didn't like is Patch from Hush, Hush. There's a lot who has this huge crush on him, and while I do get his appeal, I honestly didn't like him.
When I write reviews, I always include my thoughts/opinions on the characters. My biggest pet peeve is when a character is a walking cliche. Sometimes, bad boys (and popular girls) can fall into the walking cliche category, if the author doesn't try to put his/her own take to it.
Thanks for this. I'm going to RT this on Twitter ;)
i totally get where your coming from i don't know what it is, im a big Damon & jace lover hahaa, people didn't like jace for similar reasons but Ive alwasy adored him, when i think of it from your perspective it makes sense,thanks for the honesty and insight :)
Oh, God! That is such a huge peeve of mine in books. One I especially hated was Fallen, because of the "swoon-worthy" Daniel. The first thing he does was flip the girl off, then he ignores her, and is completely rude to her, but yet she is obsessed with the kid because he's gorgeous and treats her like crap unlike the other boys who are actually nice to her. I'm tired of the whole "bad boy" thing. I personally think they're all a bunch d-bags and should just go away already.
Get where you're coming from. I guess I take stories for face value. I have not read any stories myself where I felt the badboys are actually considered abusive in my eyes. Except Wuthering Heights. Loved this topic..I think you have opened my eyes a bit. I need to pay more attention to this so it seems.
PREACH IT, SISTER.
Yes I totally agree! Oh and (Wordforteens made me laugh with the PREACH IT, SISTER)
I'd say more, but I don't know what to say other than I agree.
I completely agree. I thought Will was like Jace from The Mortal Instruments (who is kind of an annoying jerk himself) without the sense of humor-which made him likable. Will was just a jackass, and Tessa seemed to lap it up. Does not compute!
I love this post! For the record, I always loved Stefan--from way back when I read those books the first time. Now that the show is on I still love Stefan--and I loved Riley (Buffy) and I love Peeta (not that Gale is a bad boy). I always love the good guy. So, I can never fully relate to the characters who love the bad boy. BUT, for some reason on Supernatural I love Dean and not Sam. Go figure!
So, I haven't read Hush, Hush yet but I got Crescendo in the mail. Oh good lord am I nervous about reading those, as I can't abide an asshole. No way. I'd rather read about an awkward nice guy who likes video games and comics and dinosaurs. Yes plz!
I agree that people falling for the prick is getting annoying. But only because that's what 90% of the books have these days. If everyone was falling for the golden boy I'd be getting annoyed by that too. Because honestly, it *is* realistic. When I was in high school most girls went for the seemingly heartless jocks and most guys went for the rude stuck up girls. I can't imagine That Much has changed in five years.
I hate to be the only one to disagree with you, but I feel the need to point some things out.
Usually the BETTER a person's personality is, the better looking they are to someone. The shittier the personality, the shittier the looks of the person. That's usually how it works.
That's actually not how it works. How many beautiful people do you see on TV every day who are jerks? And yet people love them. Human's are generally rather shallow and who you look makes a big difference on how people react to you. Sure on a personal level we like to try and look passed looks to the heart of people. But it's not the general rule that everyone does that.
You have this one person, be it boy or girl, ordering people around as if they're his or her minions and people follow. Why? One simple about face by the group and the alpha is dead.
Group Mentality is a powerful thing. It makes people commit crimes, shun people, and in general do stuff they wouldn't normally do. There is a whole section of Psychology classes devoted to talking about it. There are Alpha types and Beta types. The Alpha's aren't always Pricks, but when they are you end up with Beta types who thrive on the abuse. It's just how things work.
I get that you're tired of it and you think it's total BS. However, it's all rather realistic. And the fact that people eat it up should tell you something. Not saying anyone should *want* to date these sorts of people. Just that I was like Nora in HS and would have fallen for Patch too. I've grown out of my bad boy phase since then. But some people never do. Some people thrive on that type of relationship. It's annoying, but it's very real.
Sorry for disagreeing but I had to point that out.
-Em
I made an excellent life decision following your blog! Stuff like this is 75% of the impetus behind me starting my blog-- I noticed that in most stories where the girls had the superpowers, they were less likely to take crap from guys, superpowered or no. (Gee, I wonder why that could be!)
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