Fannish 5: Teachers...

[fajrdrako]

The fannish5 question for the day: Who are your five favorite fictional teachers or mentors?

Thinking about this has led me to realize how many of my favourite characters have teaching roles, how few are actually teachers. I thought of Qui-Gon in Star Wars: but I only like him as a Jedi hero and slash-partner for Obi-Wan and only in The Phantom Menace. And Yoda? He's right there on my list of least favourite characters of all time. Annoying little puppet.

And yet so many of my favourite characters have roles which involve teaching by example, or taking on unofficial acolytes and helping them to learn. Examples: Francis Crawford of Lymond, Captain Cairo Azarcon, Aral Vorkorsigan, Claude Raines (mentor to Peter in Heroes), the Doctor in Doctor Who (not just in "School Reunion", though he's lovely there), Captain Jack Harkness - in Torchwood, in Doctor Who he is only the acolyte. I'd put Methos from Highlander in this category, though he'd deny it with scorn.

My list of favourite fictional teachers:

1. Christophe, in The Feast of All Saints by Anne Rice.


2. Jane Eyre in Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte.


3. Professor X in The Uncanny X-Men and other Marvel mutant comics.


4. Justin McLeod, the reclusive retired teacher in The Man Without a Face by Isabelle Holland, whose past contains tragedy. Resemblance to the character in the Mel Gibson movie of the same name is... unfortunate.


5. Bradley Headstone, the cruel and hypocritical teacher who falls in love with Lizzie Hexham in Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens. No, I don't like him, I love to hate him. A villain, but an interesting one, and I loved the twist Dickens was making here on traditional morality - the hardworking schoolmaster is a creep, the indolent seducing lawyer is a hero.

See, as this list probably makes clear, I don't really like teachers. On principle. Because I didn't like school. Bad associations.

Funny, these are all from print media. I can't think of any teachers I like in movies or television. Indiana Jones comes close, but... no. I'd be lying. At best, it's Harrison Ford I liked there.

Comments

[silverwhistle.livejournal.com]

Can't think of any fictional ones. My real-life tutors and some teachers mean great deal to me, but in fiction, the teacher-pupil never really appealed much to me from either side of the fence.

[darthhellokitty.livejournal.com]

Well, Duncan teaches Richie... not really WELL or anything, but still.

[angevin2.livejournal.com]

See, as this list probably makes clear, I don't really like teachers.

*sniffle*

;)

[kikibug13.livejournal.com]

You have to be kidding. No Aral?!

Ahem.

If I clear my mind to recall it enough over the weekend, I might repost this... :) with my answers, that is.

;) Namaste...

[cyberducks.livejournal.com]

Great thoughts on Headstone and Wrayburn - conventionally speaking Lizzie should be loving Headstone, and not the lazy, indolent Wrayburn, but the girl has good instincts and can sense right away that there is something "off", something not quite right about Headstone. I think if I remember correctly Wrayburn is the only upperclass Dickens cad who gets to live and gets the girl at the end.

[battle-of-one.livejournal.com]

Cairo. :D