So, curious. What fictional character's death has impacted your life the most? I don't mean who's death made you weep the most. I don't mean who's death made you not okay for days. Such emotions can be brought on by pure shock. I'm asking which fictional character's death made such an impact on you that it influenced your worldview, the way you approach life, your philosophy, the way you breathe from day-to-day. When I sat and pondered the question, the first fictional character's death I thought of was Jak Fleet from the Erevis Cale novels. But Jak didn't really change the way I looked at things. He was inspiring, to be sure. But his death didn't change the way I thought of anything. He just confirmed ideals I already held, and I look to him as a heroic example of what sacrifice for a greater good looks like. So as I thought about the question, I realized it was a character I didn't cry over the first time I read the scene. I didn't cry over him the 20th time I read it, either. But as I get older, his death scene becomes more and more poignant. That character, if you haven't already guessed, is Thorin Oakenshield. When he charges out of the Lonely Mountain's gate in the battle of Five Armies, he's a king come into his own. All the years of wanting revenge on Smaug, to reclaim the gold and the throne that was his birthright is accomplished in that moment. He is King Under the Mountain. He's got everything he ever wanted. But then he falls. He dies. And his last words to Bilbo aren't the words of a proud king who has everything he ever wanted. They're the words of a dwarf who's gained wisdom that pains him to admit. "If more of us valued food and cheer above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world. But sad or merry, I must leave it now. Farewell." This is a dwarf. A king of a people known for their craftsmanship and love of beautiful things, particularly those made of metals precious and mundane. Yet, at the end of his life, his dying words almost echo Ecclesiastes in its subtext. "Vanity of vanity." He's fought, lost friends and kin, all for a mountain of gold. And he's naught to show for it, because in a few minutes he will draw his last breath and not be able to enjoy one single coin of his conquest. That quote has changed the way I look at life in ways I can't even begin to exhaustively list. It's changed the way I look at politics and economics. It's changed the way I look at friendships and who I choose to spend time with. It's changed the kinds of theologians I give ear to. It's impacted so many of my personal choices in what I decide to do with the time that is given to me. So who's your character?
