Communities

Writing
Writing
Codidact Meta
Codidact Meta
The Great Outdoors
The Great Outdoors
Photography & Video
Photography & Video
Scientific Speculation
Scientific Speculation
Cooking
Cooking
Electrical Engineering
Electrical Engineering
Judaism
Judaism
Languages & Linguistics
Languages & Linguistics
Software Development
Software Development
Mathematics
Mathematics
Christianity
Christianity
Code Golf
Code Golf
Music
Music
Physics
Physics
Linux Systems
Linux Systems
Power Users
Power Users
Tabletop RPGs
Tabletop RPGs
Community Proposals
Community Proposals
tag:snake search within a tag
answers:0 unanswered questions
user:xxxx search by author id
score:0.5 posts with 0.5+ score
"snake oil" exact phrase
votes:4 posts with 4+ votes
created:<1w created < 1 week ago
post_type:xxxx type of post
Search help
Notifications
Mark all as read See all your notifications »
Q&A

Post History

60%
+1 −0
Q&A Would a character displaying the opposite of one of their characteristics break immersion?

Even a generally rational character might have issues that cause them to snap and act irrationally. For example, in Star Trek TOS, in the episode with the Horta, Spock (the epitome of rationality) ...

posted 6y ago by Galastel‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

Answer
#4: Attribution notice removed by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-12T21:57:21Z (about 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/35752
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#3: Attribution notice added by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T08:41:08Z (about 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/35752
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision by (deleted user) · 2019-12-08T08:41:08Z (about 5 years ago)
 **Even a generally rational character might have issues that cause them to snap and act irrationally.** For example, in Star Trek TOS, in the episode with the Horta, Spock (the epitome of rationality) is all rational and "Captain, we must preserve life, we must attempt to figure out what the creature's motivations are", right until he thinks Kirk might be in danger. Then, suddenly, it's "Jim, shoot it before it attacks you!"

However, **you would have to have a good answer for why slavery is the issue that causes your character to snap**.

The irrational act would also have to be an emotional act, done in the spur of the moment, **and something the character would chastise themselves for later** , once they've had time to calm down and return to their regular way of thinking. @Amadeus gives a very good answer regarding what the rational thought process should have been.

#1: Imported from external source by user avatar System‭ · 2018-04-30T20:30:31Z (over 6 years ago)
Original score: 6