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You have two items to consider: what makes a person likable, and why you would sympathize with someone. Why you find a person appealing is a matter of taste. But when you sympathize with someone,...
Answer
#4: Attribution notice removed
by
System
·
2019-12-13T11:59:59Z (over 4 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/3848 License name: CC BY-SA 3.0 License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#3: Attribution notice added
by
System
·
2019-12-08T01:54:40Z (over 4 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/3848 License name: CC BY-SA 3.0 License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision
You have two items to consider: what makes a person likable, and why you would sympathize with someone. Why you find a person appealing is a matter of taste. But when you sympathize with someone, you are identifying with him or her; you are saying "yes, I could see myself in his/her shoes; I might have done what s/he did." There are a number of scenarios I can think of where someone you like has made crappy choices which you wouldn't have made. Think of "tough love" situations, or "you've made your bed; now lie in it." - An intelligent, well-spoken addict who ends up in jail (current fictional example: Gregory House, MD in Season 8 of _House_) - An alcoholic co-worker who loses his license after too many DUIs - The pretty, popular high school girl who ends up pregnant and drops out of school to have the baby, and then complains because she has no more social life - Your best friend dates a jerk, and no matter how you tell him the guy is bad for him, he insists the guy really loves him... until he finds out his boyfriend cheated on him. Then he spends the next six months crying on your shoulder, wondering "what did I do wrong?" and saying how lonely he is
#1: Imported from external source
by
System
·
2011-09-06T18:38:44Z (over 12 years ago)
Original score: 8