Thursday 15 July 2010

Character Connection: Jasper Hale

This is a wonderful meme hosted by Jen at The Introverted Reader. Every week, you share one literary character that you love with your fellow bloggers. You talk about the character, say why you love them and hope that everyone else will love them too.;) Be sure to post the book’s title and author, and be very careful not to give away spoilers while talking about how much you love your characters.

MY CHARACTER THIS WEEK: Jasper Hale
Jasper Hale is a character that is present in all four novels of The Twilight Saga. First, I must point out that I am NOT a fan of The Twilight Saga, but that doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate parts of it and I definitely appreciate the character of Jasper Hale, one of the vampires. In fact, I think he was one of the main reasons why I read the entire saga at all. Needless to say, I really like this character.

I really like Jasper because he actually has a pretty good reason to be distant and brooding, as he has been through a lot, and really, he doesn’t brood that much. He is a really good, kind and friendly guy, but he is also reserved, so on the outside, he might appear a little cold or unpleasant, but he’s not. It’s just his 19th century upbringing, as Jasper was a young major in the Confederate Army when he was turned into a vampire. His first few decades as a vampire were spent in violence and bloodlust, and Jasper went through quite a lot. He got tired of that kind of life, so he went away, but he was very miserable and empty, which is understandable, since violence and bloodlust were all he knew for a long time. Eventually, he met the love of his life, Alice, who helped him find a way in the world. She is his pillar. Jasper still has problems with being a vegetarian vampire (only feeding from the blood of animals), as his maker never taught him how to control his thirst, but with Alice by his side, and the Cullens, his coven, he is pretty fine. With occasional slip-ups.

He has the ability to feel and change the moods of those around him. His neat ability also assisted in damaging him emotionally, as he could feel the pain of those he killed. However, when he met Alice and they fell in love, things changed for Jasper and he basically found himself, re-invented himself, even.

To me, Jasper is a pretty romantic character and that’s why I like him. He’s not a brooding emo type, but he has his wounds and he tries to cope with them daily. I really love his story and he is my favourite character in the entire Twilight Saga.

8 comments:

Enbrethiliel said...

+JMJ+

I have to agree with you here. =) I was surprised at how much I liked Jasper and Alice's love story. They were really weird to me in the first books (and movies), but now that I know more about them, I think they're my favourite couple!

PS--Captcha is "cultz," which makes me think of Twi-hards! LOL!

The Insouciant Sophisticate said...

I am not a Twi-hard either but I appreciate you highlighting Jasper; he seems almost tolerable and it's a welcome relief after all the Team Edward and Team Jacob I see around.

B said...

I love Jasper! I'm starting to think there should be a Team Jasper...

Great character connection.

The Readings of a Busy Mom said...

when everyone was crazy for edward i was crazy for Jasper and emmet i agree with all that is said

he is a well written character

Irena @ This Miss Loves to Read said...

@Enbrethiliel: I also loved their love story. Edward and Bella pretty much fade in comparison.;)

@Bookworm: I know, I'm sick of the constant "Are you Team Edward or Team Jasper?" thing.

@Brenna: Team Jasper! I'm joining in.;)

@Busy Mom: I know, I always had a soft spot for Jasper.

Enbrethiliel said...

+JMJ+

About "Team Jasper":

Someone actually mentioned this to me last year! So Jasper does have his fans, but I guess they get kind of lost when the scrambling to the more official "Team Edward" and "Team Jacob" begins anew.

Irena @ This Miss Loves to Read said...

Ebrethiliel, we should form a group called "Team Jasper".;) Many people have labelled themselves as Team Jasper.

Jen at Introverted Reader said...

Edward is a little too perfect for me. It's much easier to understand where Jasper's coming from. To have lived the life that he did and then to make the choice to walk away from it and live a better life? It's a redemption story, and I love those.