But then again, I don't feel a particular closeness to any of the characters. They started off with so much promise and then Jordan went through and turned them all into vapid, selfish shadows of their former selves.
Rand is not my favorite character, by a long shot. That said...
This is my take on the characterizations (and character development) in the books.
You gotta remember that RJ is a Southerner. As such, and in the spirit of many Southern writers, he tends to draw from people he knows - perhaps
not individuals, but certainly types of people. He's said as much in an interview. So in EotW, he took rural, unsophisticated, uncomplicated people - many of them rather young - and placed them in the middle of extraordinary, world shaking, circumstances. Also, keep in mind that the world he's placed them has been likened to the 17th century in technology, and magical to boot. Oh, and facing the danger of a second Breaking - and that would be better than some of the alternatives..
Any dire circumstances are going to bring out the best in some, and reduce others to mediocrity - or worse. Certainly, no one is going to be overly thrilled about things in general. My grandmother (an old Southern woman) used to say, "the harder things get, the more like ourselves we become". I think RJ has used that philosophy pretty liberally in the development of the characters.
The constant nyah-nyahing back and forth between the men and the women. Well, that's something we Southerners tend to do, too. It's annoying and sexist and not a very effective means for direct communication - I'll grant you all that. But - to a Southerner - it is part of the nuance and color that is our culture. Make no mistake: when toe meets leather, we can be as direct as we need to be. However, if someone else can get the point without having it drilled into them, they usually come away feeling a little bit smarter than maybe they really are. Which is down right affirming, wouldn't you agree? *waves fan languidly* And that works for either sex.
Add to the mix the fact that there are a couple of thousand or so women wandering around who can pretty much take any man and turn him into shoe leather if they so desire (or so these rural, unsophisticated, uncomplicated people believe) AND that these women are hunting for a nightmare/saviour called the Dragon Reborn
AND he just happens to be a very serious minded, somewhat whiney boy-child that many of our central characters grew up with... well, I don't have any problem at all seeing why they are the way they are.
I still think that Rand will live. Not entirely happy about it, but I think he will.
