# The Dope List of Top 100 fictional literary characters **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 21, 2002, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dope-list-of-top-100-fictional-literary-characters/124841 "2002-08-21T02:11:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jurhael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/cab0a1/32.png) [@Jurhael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jurhael)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2002, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dope-list-of-top-100-fictional-literary-characters/124841/1 "2002-08-21T02:11:55Z")
Inspired by [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=131498). And since Chronos explained the rules better than I ever could, here they are(obviously modified): Let’s put together a list of the 100 most important/liked/respected/loved/influential fictional literary characters. Rules are as follows: You can nominate any number of characters. As soon as a character gets three or more nominations (from different people!), it goes on the list. If this gives us more than 100 characters, we up it to four votes, etc. (so feel free to re-nominate something already on the list). All fictional characters from all genres of literature are allowed. To start off the list, I’ll nominate: Claude Frollo, The Hunchback of Notre Dame Hamlet, Hamlet Oedipus, Oedipus Rex Gollum, Lord of the Rings Roland, The Dark Tower Series ---
**Author:** ![Genseric](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Genseric](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Genseric)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2002, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dope-list-of-top-100-fictional-literary-characters/124841/2 "2002-08-21T04:07:09Z")
Sherlock Holmes (Numerous Books) James Bond (Ditto) Tarzan (Ditto) Captain Ahab (Moby-Dick) Holden Caulfield (Catcher In The Rye) Robinson Crusoe Randall Flagg (The Stand) Dracula Zaphod Beeblebrox (The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy) ---
**Author:** ![saoirse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@saoirse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saoirse)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2002, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dope-list-of-top-100-fictional-literary-characters/124841/3 "2002-08-21T04:11:38Z")
Can I just add Bartleby the Scrivener and run? I promise I’ll be back. ---
**Author:** ![Wearia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/13edae/32.png) [@Wearia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wearia)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2002, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dope-list-of-top-100-fictional-literary-characters/124841/4 "2002-08-21T04:47:59Z")
Arthur Dent Ford Prefect Marvin Slartibartfast Zaphod Beeblebrox Trillian Frodo Gandalf Damn, I need to read more often… ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2002, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dope-list-of-top-100-fictional-literary-characters/124841/5 "2002-08-21T04:53:45Z")
I suggest, to those of you who, if you felt it necessary (in some cases and not others) to reference what literary work the character appears in, the character doesn’t deserve to be on the list. But I could be wrong. Silas Marner (IMHO, the greatest bore ever) Captains Ahab, Queeg, and Nemo Colonel Blimp Admiral Horatio Hornblower Major Major Holden Caulfield Kilgore Trout Robinson Crusoe Dr. Frankenstein Dracula Jay Gatsby Hannibal Lector Louis Woo Sherlock Holmes Huck Finn Tom Sawyer Superman (assuming one can call comics literature) Lolita Jane Eyre Miss Marple Sam Spade Nero Wolfe D’Artagnon (sp?) James Bond Pippy Longstocking Both Jack and Jill Long John Silver Red Chief ---
**Author:** ![Kat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b19c9b/32.png) [@Kat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kat)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2002, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dope-list-of-top-100-fictional-literary-characters/124841/6 "2002-08-21T05:34:29Z")
Scout and Atticus Finch and Boo Radley from _To Kill A Mockingbird_ Francie Nolan from _A Tree Grows In Brooklyn_ Ponyboy Curtis from _The Outsiders_ Hazel from _Watership Down_ Scrooge from _A Christmas Carol_ ---
**Author:** ![Jurhael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/cab0a1/32.png) [@Jurhael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jurhael)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2002, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dope-list-of-top-100-fictional-literary-characters/124841/7 "2002-08-21T05:44:15Z")
“I suggest, to those of you who, if you felt it necessary (in some cases and not others) to reference what literary work the character appears in, the character doesn’t deserve to be on the list.” I personally see referencing as courteous, despite Hamlet and Oedipus(among others) being hopefully obvious. 😃 That’s why I did it. ---
**Author:** ![MusicJunkie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df788c/32.png) [@MusicJunkie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MusicJunkie)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2002, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dope-list-of-top-100-fictional-literary-characters/124841/8 "2002-08-21T05:53:31Z")
Phileas Fogg (Around the World in Eighty Days) Sherlock Holmes Myamoto Masana Musashi (kinda fictional) Huckleberry Finn Humbert Humbert (thousands of times more interesting than that vulgar little Dolores) Gandalf Bilbo Ford Prefect Grendel Unnamed carachter of Wild Sheep-Chase and Dance Dance Dance Scout and Atticus Finch Prince Valiant Elijah Bailey Daneel Oliwan Giskard something-or-other (Raventlov?) Dr. Susan Calvin Hercule Poirot And I’ll think of others. ---
**Author:** ![Genseric](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Genseric](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Genseric)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2002, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dope-list-of-top-100-fictional-literary-characters/124841/9 "2002-08-21T05:53:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jurhael \* > \*\*“I suggest, to those of you who, if you felt it necessary (in some cases and not others) to reference what literary work the character appears in, the character doesn’t deserve to be on the list.” > > I personally see referencing as courteous, despite Hamlet and Oedipus(among others) being hopefully obvious. 😃 > > That’s why I did it. \*\* Same here. I started my post not referencing, but decided to go with it except when the character mentioned was also the book title. ---
**Author:** ![pekkerwud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5f8ce5/32.png) [@pekkerwud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pekkerwud)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2002, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dope-list-of-top-100-fictional-literary-characters/124841/10 "2002-08-21T06:03:13Z")
Howard Roark Ender Wiggins HAL Jane Eyre Hawkeye and I think children’s books are very influential, thus… The Cat in the Hat Harry Potter Willy Wonka Aslan Ramona ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2002, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dope-list-of-top-100-fictional-literary-characters/124841/11 "2002-08-21T06:05:38Z")
Another nomination here for Atticus Finch. He gets on the list! ---
**Author:** ![Genseric](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Genseric](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Genseric)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2002, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dope-list-of-top-100-fictional-literary-characters/124841/12 "2002-08-21T06:07:02Z")
Ok, here’s some unreferenced ones… Alex Brendan Doyle Denis Remillard Paul Atreides Lestat De Lioncourt Marius Alan Pangborn John Carter Achilles Tanis Starbuck ---
**Author:** ![detop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bcef8e/32.png) [@detop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/detop)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2002, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dope-list-of-top-100-fictional-literary-characters/124841/13 "2002-08-21T06:17:09Z")
Lazarus Long (Methuselah’s children and others) Jean Valjean (Les Misérables) Gavroche (Les Misérables) Fu Manchu (several books) Doc Savage (idem) Hagbard Celine (Illuminatus !) Merlin Ambrosius King Arthur Guinevere Lancelot du Lac ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2002, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dope-list-of-top-100-fictional-literary-characters/124841/14 "2002-08-21T06:27:29Z")
Oh, and there’s always that God dude in the all-time bestseller, ‘The Bible’. He was pretty influential and important and plenty of people love him. I reckon he should get on the list! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Genseric](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Genseric](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Genseric)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2002, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dope-list-of-top-100-fictional-literary-characters/124841/15 "2002-08-21T06:36:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by kambuckta \* > \*\*Oh, and there’s always that God dude in the all-time bestseller, ‘The Bible’. He was pretty influential and important and plenty of people love him. I reckon he should get on the list! 😃 \*\* I found the book to be overlong with far too many digressions and obvious, hackneyed plot devices. Not to mention page after page of gratuitous sex and violence. The God character is flawed on many levels, he often seems to be suffering from multiple personality disorder. How this book achieved such a large cult following is beyond me. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![betenoir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/258eb7/32.png) [@betenoir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/betenoir)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2002, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dope-list-of-top-100-fictional-literary-characters/124841/16 "2002-08-21T08:04:24Z")
Winston Smith O The guy from “Notes from Underground”. ---
**Author:** ![glass\_onion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@glass\_onion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glass_onion)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2002, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dope-list-of-top-100-fictional-literary-characters/124841/17 "2002-08-21T10:18:12Z")
Alex Winston Smith Arthur Dent Ford Prefect Zaphod Beeblebrox Othello Iago Romeo Juliet Batman Superman (Do comics count??) Lady Chatterly(sp?) Her lover Bilbo Baggins ---
**Author:** ![jools](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b3f665/32.png) [@jools](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jools)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2002, 10:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dope-list-of-top-100-fictional-literary-characters/124841/18 "2002-08-21T10:42:29Z")
Most of them have been named except for one Edmond Dantes also known as Comte Monte Cristo ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2002, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dope-list-of-top-100-fictional-literary-characters/124841/19 "2002-08-21T12:15:38Z")
I also cast a vote for Atticus Finch. I wonder how many kids read that book and decided to become lawyers? Jean Valjean Alonso Quijana / Don Quixote Another vote for Jay Gatsby Portia / Balthasar ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2002, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dope-list-of-top-100-fictional-literary-characters/124841/20 "2002-08-21T15:46:46Z")
[ul]Dr. Frankenstein Frankenstein’s monster Don Quixote Sancho Panza Huckleberry Finn Oliver Twist Ebenezer Scrooge David Copperfield Tom Sawyer Dracula Bruce Wayne/Batman Atticus Finch Sam Spade Tarzan Clark Kent/Superman Captain Ahab Hawkeye (not the comic book Hawkeye, ya geeks)😉 Ichabod Crane Othello Hamlet King Lear King Arthur Lancelot Tom Joad George and Lenny (Of Mice and Men) The Hunchback of Notre Dame Cinderella Hannibal Lecter [/ul] [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dope-list-of-top-100-fictional-literary-characters/124841.md?page=2)