Fictional Friends–Which Book Characters Would You Spend Your Time With?

There is a somewhat famous quote that says, “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” The Internet attributes it to Jim Rohn. Judging by the life he led and the influence of the books he has written, he seems to be a pretty smart guy. Perhaps there really is something to this. Now, I’m not an antisocial person, and I do like to spend time with real people, but through the years, I have also spent an awful lot of time with fictional people. I kind of wish this quote would carry on over to those because if it did, I’ve spent quite a bit of time with some pretty amazing people. I’m not saying that the real people I spend time with aren’t amazing—I think they are—but still, to have the reasoning power of Sherlock Holmes, the luck and problem-solving skills of Sir Percy Blakeney, the ingenuity of Cyrus Smith, the carefree bravery of Robin Hood, or the athletic prowess of John Carter, would be utterly awesome.

As I think about it, perhaps the reason I haven’t really become the average of these literary marvels, is because if they were real live people, I probably wouldn’t be spending much time with them. As much as I have idolized them at points throughout my life, we really have nothing in common. There is an entirely different set of characters I know I would probably find I fit in with so much better, and when I look at it, I really would be closer to the average of these characters.

1- Anne Shirley, better known as Anne of Green Gables, is one character who resonates with my very soul. Although she is a bit more outgoing than I am, we both share an imagination that knows no limits. Finding “scope for the imagination” is very important to us. We get excited over simple things, and we aren’t afraid to dream big. We also both have a tendency to push ourselves to be our very best. We can be a bit absent-minded, but we usually make up for it in other, more important ways.

2- Josephine March is a character I have long wished I could meet. I can seriously see us weaving stories together, or swapping manuscripts for each other to read. I would love to be able to help her dramatize her tales and writing late into the night by candlelight with a quill and ink sounds delightful to me. I think Jo and I could be great friends.

3- Luna Lovegood has always held a special place in my heart. Though plenty smart (she is in Ravenclaw, after all) she lives with her head in the clouds, making her appear a little brainless to those who don’t know her. I think I can be that way at times (and I would be a Ravenclaw too, according to Pottermore). Both of us tend to do what we like because we like it regardless of what others may think. Public opinion has very little sway on what we do. We are both fairly soft hearted, but we can be feisty if it comes down to protecting those we care about.

4- Lucy Pevensie has several things I can relate with. She has a way of believing and hoping. We both hold on to things others have stopped believing in much longer than is normal (I won’t even tell you how long I believed in Santa Claus). If we know something is true, there is no way we are going to give it up. I think we would enjoy talking together about some of our beliefs. Lucy can also automatically love people for who they are, despite differences. I like to think I can usually do that too.

5- Samwise Gamgee might not be my best friend in the entire world—he’s too loyal to Frodo to have many other super close friends. That, however, is part of why we would probably get along. We know that being loyal in hard times is part of a good friendship. Like Sam, I also love to help my friends succeed. When my friends are successful, I feel successful as well. We both love a good story, but would probably rather sit back and listen than actually getting involved in an adventure of our own. We don’t love change, but if called to step out of our comfort zone, we somehow manage to adapt and keep going. We also have a tendency to worry about small things. I would be more than happy to talk gardening with him, and I would hope he would give me a few expert tips. Besides, I think Sam and I would get along when it came to food, too. After all, we both love our taters.

Although I would really love to meet some of the characters like Sherlock Holmes, Sir Percy, or Gandolf the Grey, I really don’t think I would end up spending much time with them. On the other hand, Anne, Jo, Luna, Lucy, and Sam would all be people I would enjoy spending time with. Spending time reading about these characters has, I believe, influenced who I am, at least to some extent. I’m pretty sure I would be fairly happy with any one of them as a friend. Actually, each one of them has become a friend, thanks to the time I have spent with them. Of course, my real-life friends are by far the best, but I’ll always treasure my literary friends.

What characters would you like as friends? How do you think they have influenced who you are as a person?