Going against stereotypes can make for interesting fictional characters

A lot of news recently has dwelled on the outcome of the George Zimmerman trial. We all know Zimmerman to be the one who followed Trayvon Martin, supposedly as part of a neighborhood watch program. After being advised by authorities not to follow him, Zimmerman did so anyway. This decision proved disastrous, leading to a confrontation where Zimmerman shot Martin to death. Aside from Zimmerman’s testimony, we can only speculate on the words that passed between them.

Part of the national outcry has focused around “stereotyping.” Most observers assume that Zimmerman followed Martin because he thought the hooded Martin was black and up to no good.

Which brings me to the point of this blog. Some of the most interesting fiction revolves around playing against the stereotype: designing characters that run so counter to what you might expect that you root for them and actually wait for situations to occur where that stereotype is blown to hell. Those are satisfying scenes to write. I will relate to you one of them from my latest thriller, White Thaw: The Helheim Conspiracy.

Dr. Linda Kipling is my lead protagonist in this novel, her day job being a research meteorologist with the Naval Research Laboratory. (Her co-protagonist, Dr. Victor Silverstein, is her boss.) During the course of three novels, she has shown herself to be one tough cookie, emotionally and physically. Probably my favorite scene in which the stereotypical weak female is assumed comes from Chapter 59. In this scene, a group of male Navy SEALs are about to set off on a daring raid to stop a nuclear catastrophe; Lopez, a CIA agent, is briefing them when they learn that Kipling will be running interference. (Note: Two words of profanity are indicated by the first letter of the word followed by an ellipsis.)

A hand in the back. “Sir, we understand that you have someone on the inside.”

“That’s correct. Dr. Kipling. Dr. Silverstein’s colleague will be contacting us to let us know the best time to arrive and will be running interference for us….

The same person raised his hand again, this time looking back toward Silverstein.  “With all due respect to Dr. Silverstein, sir, if Dr. Kipling is another civilian scientist, it doesn’t sound to me like you have someone who’s exactly trained in doing this sort of thing.”

Another voice piped in.  “Well, then, if he has no training, let’s just hope that he’s a big m….”

The room exploded in laughter.

Silverstein knew that this would be interesting. He watched as Lopez cringed.  “Gentlemen, I’m afraid you’ve made an assumption that isn’t quite correct. Dr. Kipling is Dr. Linda Kipling.  He’s a she.”

With that comment, all heads snapped to attention. Silverstein noted that you could have heard the proverbial pin drop to the floor. The second guy, again. “Are you s… me?  You’re counting on a female to back us up?”

Initially, the Navy SEAL made a valid assumption: that a research scientist might prove to be a poor operative. His next assumption was that this scientist was male. Another SEAL then makes the joke that if at least he’s big, he might be of some use. But once the group learns that the scientist is female, they are flabbergasted. Lopez, who knew Kipling from other escapades, shakes them to their roots:

Lopez maintained his cool. “I know that all of you’re tough guys, and you are. But if I were to put Linda Kipling one on one with any of you, I wouldn’t be the one to bet against her. She’s smart, she’s resourceful, and she’s tough. And if that isn‘t enough to give you jocks wet dreams, I can vouch that she’s a babe.

Kipling’s co-protagonist, Victor Mark Silverstein, is bigger than life as well. He is a genius and a jew. But he is also African-American. I’m able to take advantage of these anomalies in my first two thrillers, Category 5 and Prophecy. My third most prominent character (who appears in all three books) and whom Silverstein knew since college is Hector Rodriguez Lopez, an Hispanic. A physically disabled young man in college, he has developed into a potent antiterrorism agent for the CIA.

I enjoy developing characters who run counter to stereotypes. No group has the distinction of being all good or all bad. If George Zimmerman had left his idea of a stereotypical hooded black male in his vehicle that night, we wouldn’t be discussing the tragedy that has polarized much of the nation.

Categorised in: White Thaw

This post was written by paulmarktag01