Dinner Party: Fictional Characters

Several months ago, I started a series of dinner party guest lists. My first list was celebrities. Then I made a list of deceased persons.

Today, after having a list in my draft folder for nine months, I'm ready to share my dinner party guest list of fictional characters. This was a hard one that I kept going back and forth on. The list was a lot longer, but I whittled it down. I feel like there are a few characters missing, so I'll add them over time as I think of them.

Guest #1: Death from The Book Thief

To be honest, I'd happily eat dinner with every character from The Book Thief and Markus Zusak, himself. But that would fill my table a little too quickly (and Markus doesn't really qualify for this party since he isn't fictional), so if I have to pick one character, it is Death. I love the depth of this character, and I love that Zusak portrays Death's responsibilities with compassion and with weight. Death is fascinated with humans, and the work of taking their lives is sometime burdensome. He takes time to pause and to "see" them. "I'm always finding humans at their best and worst. I see their ugly and their beauty, and I wonder how the same thing can be both."

I would rather enjoy sitting across the table from Death and having some meaningful conversation.

Guest #2: Elizabeth Schuyler from Hamilton

I realize that Eliza Hamilton isn't fictional, but the musical had to take some creative liberties in developing her character, and I love what she became. Throughout the story she was strong, she was noble, and she suffered adversity. In the end, Eliza was everything. I love the depiction that Lin-Manuel Miranda created for this woman.

Guest #3: Jean Valjean from Les Miserables

Valjean and Javert are two of my favorite characters, and I would gladly have either or both of them to dinner. Each would yield a unique conversation - Valjean who had to choose between life and abiding the law and Javert who was so rigid in obedience that he would rather die than venture into the gray area.

Come to dinner, my friends. Let's talk about this.

(Actually, this just gave me a great idea for my next dinner party guest list: Rivals! Oh yes! I'm already formulating).

Guest #4: Benjamin Linus from Lost

If there's one thing I'm a sucker for, it's a damaged character with a fascinating back story. So why not add bug-eyed Benjamin Linus to my guest list? He is so purely evil when you first get to know him, but then you learn his back story. And there's that grand question - if you could go back in time and kill Benjamin Linus as a child so that he would never grow up to do what he did as an adult, would you do it? Would that be justified? Would it be ethical?

Benjamin Linus is one of my all-time favorite characters, and in the very last episode of Lost, his last scenes are some of my favorites of the whole series.

Guest #5: Robin Hood

I've been crushing on Robin Hood since I was a toddler. I usually say that my first crush was Marty McFly, but really, he's in competition with Robin Hood. I think I fell for both of them around age three.

There isn't a particular Robin Hood I choose, but I have to say that even as a cartoon fox, Robin Hood is pretty sexy. My favorite line from a Disney movie is, "Marian, my love, will you marry me?" I used to love the idea of someone disguising himself to win a kiss from me in an archery tournament.

I think what's so romantic about Robin Hood is that he satisfies both the bad boy and  the good boy criteria. He's got that criminal streak going on, but all in the name of serving the poor.

I'll feed him dinner. You bet I will!

Guest #6: Tami Taylor from Friday Night Lights

As far as strong women characters go, Tami Taylor is one of the tops. She has courage, she has influence, and she stand up for what she believes in no matter the risk. Tami is my girl.

Guest #7: Tom Riddle from Harry Potter

Wouldn't it be fascinating to pick the brain of Tom Riddle, pre-Voldemort? Oh yes. Yes, it would. It would be a lot like meeting with a teenage Benjamin Linus. It doesn't matter what happens at my dinner party - Tom Riddle will still become Voldemort, but I want to study him and observe him and see what I see in him. Will he make me feel uncomfortable? Will he be convincing? It's all very complicated. I wonder what he eats.

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Characters who didn't make the cut: Snape, Veronica Mars, Timothy from The Cay, Jonas from The Giver, Kirk from Gilmore Girls (for comedic relief), JD from Scrubs, and Charles Widmore from Lost.