Zas678 he/him Posted March 20, 2011 Posted March 20, 2011 I was skimming the WoK, and as I was reading some of the flashbacks, I realized something. Kaladin is a lot like Joseph from the Bible. I mean really. Look at the story. You have a family, with a kid with a special talent who is sold into slavery/drafted into the army. He does the best he can do, and he goes about as far as he can get. When he does the ultimate thing for honor, though, he gets put in prison/sold as a slave. He struggles without freedom when finally, finally, because of his special talent, he gets put as the Ruler's right hand man. Is it anyone else, or is it just me?
ZeldaDad he/him Posted March 20, 2011 Posted March 20, 2011 Yeah, I can see it. It lacks the terrible syblings aspect, but I can see it. With Brandon's religious background I'm not surprised, whether it was intentional or not.
Silus - Shard of Flame he/him Posted March 20, 2011 Posted March 20, 2011 I doubt it was conscious, but the comparison is still interesting.
Link Von Kelsier Harvey he/him Posted March 21, 2011 Posted March 21, 2011 Someone over on TV Tropes is convinced that Dalinar was based on Mormon (Author of The Book of Mormon, if that wasn't obvious.) There might be something to this.
Zas678 he/him Posted March 22, 2011 Author Posted March 22, 2011 Mormon? That doesn't make much sense. Now Captain Moroni... (general of armies, makes "title of liberty", protects the land, and writes an angry letter when he thinks the government went corrupt) That makes sense. But, as has been said, it's unlikely these are conscious decisions.
PeterAhlstrom he/him Posted March 22, 2011 Posted March 22, 2011 Some of the things Nohadon says are based on things that King Benjamin says. I kind of get the Mormon thing though. He's the last modern believer in ancient scriptures that say you should be nice to other people, yet he's also a great warrior himself. But Mormon was a believer from childhood, and Dalinar only came to believe when he was getting old. BTW, Moroni was obviously Mormon's hero; that's why he named his son after him. Dalinar doesn't seem to have a hero other than his own brother. I don't find the Joseph parallel very convincing.
Zas678 he/him Posted March 22, 2011 Author Posted March 22, 2011 Meh. He's my cousin. He can say things like that. And plus, he's not saying that I'm dumb. Just that my theory isn't strong. I can see King Benjamen. Plus, most people don't remember that Benjamen also defended the kingdom, not just talked about it.
Silus - Shard of Flame he/him Posted March 24, 2011 Posted March 24, 2011 I can't remember a lot of what Nohandon said, but when I reread it I'll keep the King Benjamin thing in mind. The Mormon and Moroni parallels, that's good stuff. Yeah, the Joseph thing's a little weak, not as strong as the others, but there's some things in common, I guess. Peter's your COUSIN!?
Nightfire107 he/him Posted May 30, 2011 Posted May 30, 2011 Peter's brother in law taught my Eng 101 class.
PeterAhlstrom he/him Posted June 8, 2011 Posted June 8, 2011 (edited) zas678 is my cousin-in-law. I'm not sure any of my actual cousins care about Brandon or fantasy novels. Edited June 8, 2011 by PeterAhlstrom
Captain.Kaulu Posted January 17, 2012 Posted January 17, 2012 I don't find the Joseph parallel very convincing. This is all the evidence I need to conclude that Kaladin wasn't an intentional Joseph parallel (which I would have guessed anyway). But intentional or not ... I think reading Kaladin's struggles could be a powerful aid to getting interesting insights about Joseph's character; particularly his almost unbelievable unflagging positive attitude when put into terrible situations. Perhaps, like Kaladin, Joseph didn't have such an emotional-stability-superpower either, but had to struggle and fight his way through the whole time, and he just looks perfect once it's all over? Interesting.
Wisdom he/him Posted January 17, 2012 Posted January 17, 2012 But intentional or not ... I think reading Kaladin's struggles could be a powerful aid to getting interesting insights about Joseph's character; particularly his almost unbelievable unflagging positive attitude when put into terrible situations. Perhaps, like Kaladin, Joseph didn't have such an emotional-stability-superpower either, but had to struggle and fight his way through the whole time, and he just looks perfect once it's all over? Interesting. The Bible/Torah wasn't written in the way WoK was, we actually get to see Kaladin's thoughts and internal struggle. The people around him however, don't get to see his doubts and fears, so to them he probably seems more resolute. It is probably the same with Joseph. Besides, wasn't a part of Joseph's story that his unbreakable faith in God led to his success - with a message like that you can't have him doubting himself as it would be akin to doubting God.
Captain.Kaulu Posted January 17, 2012 Posted January 17, 2012 The Bible/Torah wasn't written in the way WoK was, we actually get to see Kaladin's thoughts and internal struggle. The people around him however, don't get to see his doubts and fears, so to them he probably seems more resolute. It is probably the same with Joseph. My thoughts exactly. Besides, wasn't a part of Joseph's story that his unbreakable faith in God led to his success - with a message like that you can't have him doubting himself as it would be akin to doubting God. Hmmm, not necessarily. I think everyone struggles with doubt, even if those with "unbreakable faith" are amazing at getting over it very quickly. In addition, even with unbreakable faith in God, there can still be struggles with believing in one's own strength and resolve, believing that the God you believe in will apply to you personally, and (especially in Joseph's case) struggling to forgive those who have wronged you.
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