Chicken Littles/Pessimistic/Self-Deprecating characters?

January 1, 2005 7:09 PM

Need help making an analogy. Can anyone think of pessimistic, self-berating characters from books, TV, etc. - especially ones that know they aren't that great or brilliant to begin with but announce it to the world anyway (unlike, say, Marvin the Paranoid Android)?
posted by casarkos to Writing & Language (25 answers total)

Homer Simpson?
posted by Kwantsar at 7:12 PM on January 1, 2005

Well, I'm not that smart but...

...um. No, I can't. Sorry.
posted by five fresh fish at 7:17 PM on January 1, 2005

George Costanza from Seinfeld?
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 7:25 PM on January 1, 2005 [1 favorite]

I'm assuming you want it well-known enough to make the analogy seem effortless -- in which case, if one isn't coming readily to mind, it might not resonate.

The first character that came to mind was Rhoda Morganstern. But Costanza is probably your best choice for most people.
posted by mrkinla at 7:29 PM on January 1, 2005

Thomas Covenant, perhaps?
posted by dirtynumbangelboy at 7:38 PM on January 1, 2005

Some characters from Shakespearean tragedies recognize that they are in tragic situations, and use soliloquies bemoan their shortcomings. E.g., Hamlet, lamenting his tendency to spend too much time in thought, and not enough time taking action:

Thus conscience does make cowards of us all;
And thus the native hue of resolution
Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought,
And enterprises of great pith and moment
With this regard their currents turn awry,
And lose the name of action.

I'm not sure if "like a soliloquizing Shakespearean tragic hero" is a useful description, though.
posted by CrunchyFrog at 7:42 PM on January 1, 2005

Heh, good point. Works about as well as "like an incondign, mordant leper."
posted by dirtynumbangelboy at 7:50 PM on January 1, 2005

Eeyore.
posted by Doohickie at 7:50 PM on January 1, 2005

Any Woody Allen character.

How about Mr. Micawber from "David Copperfield"?
posted by inksyndicate at 7:55 PM on January 1, 2005

Shelley Levene of Glengarry Glen Ross, Gil of The Simpsons
posted by The White Hat at 8:04 PM on January 1, 2005

Fry from Futurama
posted by nathan_teske at 8:10 PM on January 1, 2005

Your question is phrased so tentatively it's unclear what you're looking for -- maybe you won't know yourself until the example presents itself, though.

Rodney Dangerfield

Woody Allen and his various personae, of course, but really -- almost any Jewish comedian.

Opus

Dilbert -- or perhaps Wally?
posted by dhartung at 8:24 PM on January 1, 2005

Response by poster: After some consultation, have determined perhaps "loser" is a better definition. The most dead-end, pitiful, unfunny, unredeemedly painfully terminal example of loserhood conceivable?

It's for a music review. Emo. Bad emo.
posted by casarkos at 8:44 PM on January 1, 2005

I second Eeyore. But if the donkey won't do, how about Puddleglum?
posted by Clay201 at 9:58 PM on January 1, 2005

Paris Hilton. Except she's rich, so never mind, I guess. Maybe there's a second-rate porn actress you could reference. There's always room for one of those in a scathing music review.
posted by Buzz at 10:34 PM on January 1, 2005

The White Hat, I don't recall Shelly Levene being pessimistic or self-berating. Are you sure you don't mean George Aaronow?
posted by You Should See the Other Guy at 10:40 PM on January 1, 2005

What about someone like Courtney Love? She hates herself completely, and is willing to take out billboards across the planet so everyone knows it.

Or something about, uh, The Average Teenage Livejournal Subscriber? (No dis, just throwing ideas out.)
posted by chicobangs at 10:52 PM on January 1, 2005

Costanza (Ditto)
Drew Carey
Rodney Dangerfield (Ditto)
Rosanna Rosannadanna
Charlie Brown
Letterman
Richard Lewis
posted by HyperBlue at 10:58 PM on January 1, 2005

Larry David in Curb Your Enthusiasm. He's fully aware that he fails in all of his schemes, and isn't scared to admit it.
posted by wackybrit at 3:58 AM on January 2, 2005

Dr. Zoidberg from Futurama never hesitates to gush about the time he found an empty pizza box in the dumpster that still had some cheese melted to the cardboard. "And one time, pepperoni! What a day it was!" Most of his thoughts are self-berating in some capacity, although in his case he's proud of the little accomplishments in his pitiful life.
posted by Servo5678 at 5:27 AM on January 2, 2005

The White Hat, I don't recall Shelly Levene being pessimistic or self-berating. Are you sure you don't mean George Aaronow?

You are right, my apologies.
posted by The White Hat at 8:01 AM on January 2, 2005

It's obvious to readers that Don Quixote and Ignatius J. Reilly ("Confederacy of Dunces") aren't great, but the characters have a harder time realizing it.
posted by Frank Grimes at 8:37 AM on January 2, 2005

Roast Beef from Achewood.
Whatever that elf was in Harry Potter.
Various Chris Farley characters.

How sad that that's all I can come up with.
posted by Hildago at 11:10 AM on January 2, 2005

Dobby. The House-Elf.
posted by Miko at 3:52 PM on January 2, 2005

Eeyore and Puddleglum immediately came to mind, but Michael Moorcock's Elric of Melniboné is certainly another of these.
posted by ikkyu2 at 6:08 PM on January 2, 2005