Renarins Radiant Abilities

[RenegadeShroom]

... Maybe it's because mildly autistic people exist, and their existence needn't be justified.

 

Why bother writing non-autistic characters if them not being autistic isn't gonna be relevant?

[WeiryWriter he/him]

This makes me wonder what's the relevance of Renarin being on the ASD spectrum is he is so light it is barely noticeable... If it only amounts to a few quirks and personality traits other individuals not on the spectrum may have as well, then why bother making him autistic?

 

Why does there have to be a reason?  Renarin's ASD is a part of who he is as a character as developed by Brandon, there really doesn't have to be any further relevance.  From an out-of-world perspective though Renarin's ASD is super important, as it is incredibly rare to see individuals with ASD in fiction, particularly fantasy, which makes this a matter of representation.

[Charononus]

This makes me wonder what's the relevance of Renarin being on the ASD spectrum is he is so light it is barely noticeable... If it only amounts to a few quirks and personality traits other individuals not on the spectrum may have as well, then why bother making him autistic?

 

Well as to making it on the higher functioning end of the spectrum,  it'd be hard if not impossible to write a more severe form and have the character eventual appear in a more heroic setting.  Not impossible but imo very difficult.  This is not only due to the problems the character would have,  but also in creating a connection between him and the neurotypical audience.

Well, at his age he already developed coping mechanisms that allow him to behave "normaly", but it could make it difficulty for him growing up. And many peculiar traits of autistic people can be problematic in a society that does not accept them. And maybe Brandon wanted to write a character with mild autism.

This is mostly true.  The real ways it'd show up would be in social interactions which would still be extremely awkward.  In any upcoming PoV from Renarin however the differences may be more noticeable depending on Brandon's understanding of the condition.  (I hope he gets it right,  and have confidence he will.)

 

Why does there have to be a reason?  Renarin's ASD is a part of who he is as a character as developed by Brandon, there really doesn't have to be any further relevance.  From an out-of-world perspective though Renarin's ASD is super important, as it is incredibly rare to see individuals with ASD in fiction, particularly fantasy, which makes this a matter of representation.

Something to add in here.  I don't know where everyone is from,  but in the US,  it's getting important to have some positive portrayals of individuals on the ASD spectrum.  In the Newtown and Oregon mass shootings,  the individuals were reportedly on the ASD spectrum.  Because of this those that don't have any first hand knowledge of ASD have begun to develop a fear of individuals with autism.  While the timeline doesn't match up for Brandon to have written Renarin for these reasons,  the fact that he exists,  and has even touched off this limited discussion is a good thing.  You can see a common reaction from Shallan in the books,  calling Renarin creepy.  As a real life example of this,  I live in an apartment building,  and oddly enough a family that moved into one of the nearby units also has a son with autism.  He was in front of the building playing and being a kid,  but because of his autism he was also staring off a lot and it unnerved another resident,  who actually called the cops about it.  Calling the cops because an eight year old kid made them nervous.

 

So my thoughts and writing here are a little scattered,  but I hope that helps illustrate how important it is to have portrayals like Renarin's in more fiction.

[Shardbearer he/him]

I have 2 autistic kids.

 

People with developmental differences have been stigmatized for a long time. I really appreciate Brandon getting some autistic characters into his books to help fight this stigmatism. It used to be a lot worse than it is now, but we still have a long way to go. That's part of the point of including these characters in his books.

 

Also, Brandon has said in his writing lectures that for magic systems and characters, limits are more interesting than abilities. He also talked about the difference between character flaws and character weaknesses, which also make characters more interesting. As I recall, a flaw is something that the character could work to overcome with time, and a weakness (don't remember if that's the actual word he used) is something that they will have to deal with for life. Autism and

 

Mistborn era 2 minor spoiler

Wayne's kleptomania

 

are examples of this. Renarin will always be autistic, so he'll have to find ways to cope. This makes him an interesting character with challenges that the other characters wont have to face.

[Charononus]

I have 2 autistic kids.

 

People with developmental differences have been stigmatized for a long time. I really appreciate Brandon getting some autistic characters into his books to help fight this stigmatism. It used to be a lot worse than it is now, but we still have a long way to go. 

It's different now,  than when I was growing up.  However I'm not sure it's better,  it seems to be that it's just different.  It seems to me that it used to be that those with developmental differences used to be "mocked" more,  and are now viewed with some amount of fear.  I can't decide if there is really anything that changed for the better with that.

[Guest]

I am sorry. I did not mean to create such a polemic.

 

In my original posting, I was not questioning the relevance of having an ASD character within a work of fiction.  I do understand why it is relevant and even important, within today's society, to raise awareness towards neuro-atypical individuals in a positive way.

 

I was however questioning the relevance of having an ASD character so light on the spectrum your average reader will have a hard time depicting him as such without the external help of WoB or in depth-discussions. If a reader can't properly identify Renarin as autistic, then how is he raising the social awareness towards real-life struggle ASD individuals meet on an every day basis? Wouldn't it be better if he were slightly higher on the scale?

 

These are the questions I was asking myself. I apologize for having asked, especially in such a casual way. I will try to keep these thoughts to myself in the future.

[Charononus]

I am sorry. I did not mean to create such a polemic.

 

In my original posting, I was not questioning the relevance of having an ASD character within a work of fiction.  I do understand why it is relevant and even important, within today's society, to raise awareness towards neuro-atypical individuals in a positive way.

 

I was however questioning the relevance of having an ASD character so light on the spectrum your average reader will have a hard time depicting him as such without the external help of WoB or in depth-discussions. If a reader can't properly identify Renarin as autistic, then how is he raising the social awareness towards real-life struggle ASD individuals meet on an every day basis? Wouldn't it be better if he were slightly higher on the scale?

 

These are the questions I was asking myself. I apologize for having asked, especially in such a casual way. I will try to keep these thoughts to myself in the future.

Asking questions is never bad.  It's the only way you can learn.

 

The main things I'd say about your clarified thought is that,

 

1)  Renarin has not had a lot of in depth time yet.  His PoV's whenever they may happen will probably show more.

 

2)  The ASD scale can be very steep.  In a world at war such as Roshar it would be hard imo to have a more severe case end up being something other than a potential victim,  someone who's only purpose is to give a Windrunner someone to save.  I don't think that would be good either.