Post History

Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/38249
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

 **The breaking point will be different for different readers, because it all comes down to what we can learn from the character.** If we can genuinely put ourselves in the character's place, we'll have empathy for him, even if we abhor his actions. But if he neither regrets them nor learns from them, that may make this too morally wearisome for most readers.

I actually have a similar dilemma in my own current manuscript. My main character has several unattractive traits, of which one of the most noticeable is his (mild) racism. Over the course of the book, he "learns better" to a certain extent, but he never really directly faces his racism specifically, nor is he "punished" for it --that's just not his main story arc. As with your backstory, his moral flaw is in there largely because I think it makes him more authentic to his setting.

Here are the things I'm doing to mitigate this: One, it's important that the book itself not condone or celebrate his attitudes. It's one thing to have an immoral character, it's an entirely different thing to have an immoral book. Two, he does end the book a better person, with better attitudes, even if it isn't the main theme. Three, there are voices in the book to question and challenge him on this specific point. Four, his story arc does revolve around him learning to be a better person, and suffering for the consequences of his flaws, even if that isn't the specific flaw he suffers for. Finally, it gives me an opportunity in the book to offer some subtle commentary on racism and its costs, even if that isn't directly visible to the characters themselves. I think these are all strategies you could apply successfully as well. **You can use the book to help the reader understand viscerally why torture is wrong, even if the character never consciously grasps the lesson.**

Original score: 7