Alright, I am here to rant about my favorite ranting subject: The Twilight Series. A while back (six months ago to be exact) I expressed my addiction to this series. It had been a while since I’d even thought about the books, and then all this excitement about the movie came along. I took another look over the books and couldn’t help but think…what did I ever love about this book?
Now, before I say any more, I must explain three things: Firstly, I do not intend to offend anybody here. I think it’s wonderful if you enjoy the series (I’m glad it’s getting more people to read) and I completely respect your opinion about it. Second, I don’t hate the series, I’m just not a fan anymore. I’m happy that Stephenie Meyer got to share her characters with the world and got a good response. I just don’t think the books are as fantastic as the hype makes them out to be. Thirdly, understand that these views are coming from someone who has taken a lot of time to study the art of creative writing. I won’t lie, I can be a harsh critic. I’ve spent plenty of time on fanfiction sites, reading books on creating quality writing, and improving my own skills. Also, I am most DEFINITELY not saying I am in any way better than Stephenie Meyer! I am merely criticizing the writing in the most intelligent way I can.
Okay, I’m glad that’s cleared up. 
Now for the review (I warn you, I shall be nit-picky!) Oh yes, and SPOILERS AHEAD!
I believe one of the most important things about writing a story is the characters. The author should have a good, strong relationship with them (I can see Meyer does, so nothing to complain about in this department), the reader should be able to detect the relationship and develop their own relationship with the characters, and the characters should be realistic. When I say realistic, I generally mean flawed. No one’s perfect, so no one can relate to a perfect character. The flaws should also be something that would annoy/vex any regular person. A scar somewhere on a character’s body or a flaw that can be seen as endearing definitely does not count. You guys are smart, so I’m sure readers of the series can see where I’m going with this.
The. Cullens. Need. Flaws. Yes, they’re vampires. No, they aren’t human. If they have no flaws, does that mean we, the readers, will be able to relate with them? I think there’s only a 1% chance we will. We might like the characters: either we’re not a nit-picky reader and we don’t care for the quality of the characters, we are somehow able to relate to them, or we like to spend our time drooling all over them. I’ll admit, I did drool over Edward for a while, but then I had the realization that there is hardly anything imperfect about him. He’s a stunning, gorgeous creature (this is enhanced when a vampire walks into the sun)–and we are constantly reminded about it. In one of the books–at the moment I can’t remember which–one of the Cullens is explaining every feature a person gains once they become a vampire. The majority of these features are not beneficial to the actual hunting the vampire must do to survive. One of these is their beauty. So, I ask, for goodness’ sake, why give them this irresistable beauty if they don’t need it? Is it merely to make the vampire characters more perfect and awe-inspiring than they already are? I almost think this could be a disadvantage–if the Cullens are posing as high school students in a quiet, rainy town, they must be inconspicuous, right? HOW is that possible when they’re so undeniably beautiful?
It’s not just the unquestionable beauty I find irksome–it’s the personalities as well. Some may argue that Edward is not perfect because of how overly cautious he is with Bella or how self-sacrificial he tends to be. First of all, him being so careful is not unreasonable. He most definitely has a reason to exercise caution–he is, basically, a monster who is meant to feed on human blood. Sure, Edward chooses not to and seems to be a master at controlling himself–another trait that contributes to his perfection, whoopee!–but there’s a chance he’ll slip up. As for being so self sacrifical (please pardon me if that phrase doesn’t even exist)–yes it annoys Bella, but to many it is one of those flaws some readers find endearing. The thought that wanders through readers’ minds is “Aww, he cares so much for Bella that he would kill himself, isn’t that sweet?” I shall admit that this thought was absent from my mind. To be blunt, I found it a little creepy.
I really need to get to the point here (I warned you, this is my favorite ranting subject!). Edward has super speed and super strength. Super speed I understand, as well as quick reflexes, since it would be beneficial for vampires when it comes to hunting. Super strength? What in the world? Here’s another vampire power that has little to do with a vampire’s survival–another perfect trait. Here are a few simple traits you could give a person to make them flawed: unintelligent, unattractive, weak, not very funny, and nasty/snobby/evil. It’s obvious enough that Edward is a smart guy–he’s been around for about a century, so that’s expected. Unattractive? I’ve been over that already. Weak is also something I’ve covered. He is physically strong and strong enough to restrain himself when it comes to biting Bella/another human. I can’t remember a point where he was especially funny, but he never tries to be funny. It’s one thing when a character tries to be funny and isn’t–I like characters like that; it shows they’re real. I come across people like that all the time. It’s another thing if the character doesn’t try to be funny. If this occurs, the fact that he isn’t funny isn’t brought to a reader’s attention. The final trait: obviously he isn’t evil or nasty. He’s a sweet guy who isn’t abusive or anything (the opposite, actually) and is very protective of his girlfriend. I mean, if he was nasty, Bella wouldn’t be with him, right? Uh…maybe.
This brings us to Bella’s character. To be honest, I lost respect for her while reading the second book, and I no longer enjoy her as a character, especially as the main protaganist. She was tolerable in the first book–not great, but tolerable. If she continued to act more like she did in the first book, I might not find her so obnoxious.
Bella is described as a plain-looking girl. Usually when I read about a character and see this, I think, “Fantastic!” However, there is nothing else in the entire series that proves this to us. There is nothing in the narrative, besides the author telling us, that shows this particular trait of Bella in action. In the first book only, she attracts about five guys. How she do this? Just by walking into a room. I don’t know any plain looking girl who can do that! When she first arrives at school, a boy named Eric enthusiastically offers to walk her to class, and he later asks her to a dance. Then there’s a boy named Mike Newton, who apparently follows her around like a puppy and then asks her to the same dance Eric did (did I mention this dance requires the GIRLS to ask the boys? All three–yes, three–seem to completely disregard this). Then another boy (I think his name is Tyler, but I’m not sure) who almost runs her over with a car asks her to the dance. None of these boys ask her as a pity date or anything, they’re all just miraculously attracted to her. On Stephenie Meyer’s website, this issue has come up and is displayed as a frequently asked question. This was her response: “Some parts of Bella’s experiences are modeled after real life (my life, to be exact) in order to ground the fantasy aspects of the story in solid reality.” Okay…I’m not saying it’s impossible for a plain-looking girl to attract so many boys this way. Obviously it worked for the author in her college days. However, when she says “solid reality”, it is not the reality of the majority of girls who will read her books! Most girls can’t get a date simply by walking through school, especially if it’s a new school. I’m sure many girls who were told that this trait of Bella’s is “solid reality” would feel insecure and would want to know why this wasn’t happening to them. There is more to the response, but I wasn’t that satisfied with it. In my opinion, if you want people to relate to your main character, don’t make them so irresistable to most of the boys in the story, EVEN if it happened to you. Many will find it unbelievable. It also doesn’t help when the main character’s name (Bella Swan) translates to “beautiful swan”. That doesn’t sound like a plain-looking girl to me…
Next, why is Bella portrayed as such a weak person? Of course there are weak people out there: I myself am definitely not that physically strong. Not everyone can be a body builder. However, not only is she physically weak–Edward treats her like she’s made of glass, actually, and is always reminding her how delicate she is (if my boyfriend ever said that to me, and I’m hoping many girls agree with me here, I’d try and prove him wrong! Girl power!)–Bella is not very strong emotionally either. She can’t even seem to live properly without Edward! When he breaks up with her, she faints. What is her father supposed to think when she is carried out of the middle of a forest practically unconscious? If that happened to any of my loved ones, I’d think the worst: that she had been almost murdered or sexually abused. I would have some trouble believing that she was just being melodramatic about a break up. I hoped the shock would end there–but she becomes a zombie without Edward. It drags on for almost half a year (in other words, throughout the entirety of the second book). She participates in violent and dangerous activities that could kill her JUST so she can heard Edward’s voice in her head warning her not to do it. Being a teenage girl myself, I wanted to scream at her, “Have some dignity!!” I hope nobody who reads the series sees Bella as a representative for teenage girls. Not all of us mope around about it for months and months and fail to see any meaning in life without our boyfriend. In fact, most of us don’t. Of course we would be in pain–we’d feel hurt, rejected, lost, all of the stuff she felt–but eventually, we’d get over it. We would move on, and Bella seems incapable of doing that. Honestly, her misery gets to the point where she seems mentally unstable. I praise her father for confronting her about her attitude in the beginning of New Moon. If I remember correctly, he threatens to send her back to her mother, but she doesn’t want to. That would be a great thing if it wasn’t for the fact that the only reason she wanted to stay in Forks was in case Edward returned.
I understand that a main character needs something about them that makes them unique. Personally, I prefer it when that trait has something to do with the character’s personality than with the way they look, but the latter is fine in some cases. The first unique thing we discover about Bella is that she has lived in Phoenix, Arizona all her life but isn’t the least bit tan, and it’s because she’s part albino. That’s alright, but it doesn’t stop there. As mentioned before, she is able to attract boys without doing anything, but she is also the girlfriend of a vampire, is the only person whose mind Edward cannot read, and whose blood has a distinctive, irresistable smell that Edward has had yet to encounter. It seems Bella is just a little too special.
Also, the day I meet a real person as genuinely clumsy as Bella Swan will be the day meerkats conquer the world. I just don’t like Bella because I can’t see myself being friends with someone who is as melodramatic, dependent on her boyfriend, undignified, and selfish as Bella. Again, I sincerely hope I am not offending anyone.
My next topic concerns Bella and Edward’s actual romantic relationship. What is it based on? What do they see in each other? The only reason Bella seems to have given for loving him so much is that he’s so incredibly beautiful. If there is anywhere in the book where Bella gives a reason–an actual reason–for loving him that has something to do with his personality, I would love to know the page number. Edward’s reason for loving Bella seems to be just as superficial: her smell is so alluring, and he craves her blood. Again, what part of her personality is Edward attracted to? Bella also doesn’t seem to have any hobbies, ambitions, or aspirations that don’t have something to do with Edward. In my opinion, their relationship is a little obsessive and doesn’t seem healthy to me. It’s wonderful if you’re passionate about someone, but if you’re going to kill yourself because you can’t be with that person, it’s unhealthy! There is more to life than your romantic partner. Bella wants to become a vampire so that she can be with Edward forever, despite the fact that she will hurt her parents and everyone else she loves by leaving her human life behind and that her thirst for blood will be dangerous to everyone around her. One of the only things I like about Edward anymore is how he constantly tries to convince her that becoming a vampire is not the most intelligent decision.
I shall now bring up a character who I very much enjoyed in the first book, but began to dislike around the middle of the second book: Jacob Black. He was a very sweet, innocent guy in the first novel in the series, and I found myself wanting to know more about him. Unfortunately, the wish came true. (Spoilers ahead!!) When he became a werewolf, the sweetness was gone. He became about as obsessed with Bella as she is with Edward. He constantly took advantage of Bella throughout Eclipse and was arrogantly convinced that she was in love with him. I highly dislike him for this. You may be wondering why I dislike him if he’s so very flawed. Aren’t flaws what I wanted? Of course! The flaws just need to be balanced out with good traits. If Jacob was still the sweet boy he was in Twilight and had these flaws as well, I would probably like him a lot. It’s like real life: when you have friends or loved ones, there are qualities about them that you like, which is why you love them. When they make a mistake or make you mad, these good qualities are what lead you to forgive them. I can’t forgive Jacob because he doesn’t have this balance. Sure, he has good qualities, but the bad ones appear to dominate.
My final ranting topic has arrived! The love triangle in Eclipse–boy did that bother me. How, how, HOW can Bella be in love with two different people? I can understand having a crush on multiple people–but to claim you are truly, passionately in love with two people is something I don’t comprehend. It just made me so angry that Jacob’s arrogant claims about Bella loving him were actually true. While reading the entire book, I kept wondering why Jacob couldn’t get over himself, and I was disappointed at the end.
WOW! I wrote a lot, and I apologize to everyone who read the entire thing–I’m sure it took up a lot of your time! I hope you enjoyed it though, and I will repeat what I said before: I sincerely hope I didn’t offend anyone. I didn’t intend to, and if you were offended by this, I apologize. Please remember that it’s only my opinion and you don’t have to agree with anything I said. You don’t have to dislike the Twilight series or stop reading it because of what I wrote. You can completely ignore what I wrote and I’ll be fine with it. I just wanted to get my own opinion out there. I will give Stephenie Meyer this positive, honest opinion: I think that the descriptions of the book are very well written, and despite quite a few grammar mistakes, the way she writes makes the book rather addicting. I will be purchasing Breaking Dawn, but I shall scan the pages with skeptical eyes. So I just say, Stephenie Meyer, keep writing those descriptions the way you do! They make parts of the books a great pleasure to read.
I hope you enjoyed!
Morgan
First of all, Happy New Year–I hope everyone had fun and safe holiday vacations. I’m in the process of answering more fan mail. I’ve answered most of them and only have about ten left, so I’ll probably be finished sometime next week. There are thirty two pieces of mail, and I have to say again, thank you all for sending them! Reading your sweet messages always brightens up my day!