| The purpose of this thesis is to analyze the morals of heroes and villains in modern fantasy and science fiction literature.The topic is analyzing the major characters in Liu Cixin's trilogy,The Three Body Problem.It compares the main characters of The Three Body Problem with characters created by various English language sci-fi and fantasy authors(Martin,Jordan,Goodkind,Stover,Lynch,Stephen King,Morgan,Rothfuss,and Abercrombie).The conclusion is that the heroes of villains of modern fantasy and sci-fi literature are complex morally,but there are generally seven types of heroes: morally-questionable lawful hero,morally questionable chaotic hero,epic,saint-like chaotic hero,supporting chaotic hero,dangerous chaotic hero,lawful/na?ve/semi-useful hero,and the moral-hybrid hero.The conclusion is that while most sci-fi and fantasy writers seek to make these characters as morally complex as possible,Liu creates seven of these character types and makes them more complex than that of most English language authors.Part One introduces the heroes of The Three Body Problem trilogy: Bill Heinz,Keiko Yamasuki,Yun Tianming,Zhang Beihai,President Diaz,Cheng Xin,Luoji,and also identifies the three types of villain introduced in the story: Thomas Wade,Ye Wenjie,and Mike Evans.It explains that Bill Heinz is a “morally questionable lawful hero,” Keiko Yamasuki is a “morally questionable chaotic hero,” Yun Tianming is an “epic,saint-like chaotic hero,” Zhang Beihai is a “supporting chaotic hero,” President Diaz is a “dangerous chaotic hero,” Cheng Xin is a “lawful/na?ve/semi-useful hero,and Luoji is a “moral-hybrid hero.” It also analyzes the three villains: Thomas Wade,Ye Wenjie,and Mike Evans as well as analyzes their moral complexity.Ultimately,the essay concludes that while Liu Cixin's characters resemble those of fantasy and sci-fi novels in English literature,they embody the same tropes while being even more morally complex. |
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