Today we have Karl who is stranded on my Island and he has the choice of 5 fictional characters who will help him survive, let’s see who he chooses…
When I was asked to write a piece talking about the fictional characters I would pick to join me in being stranded on a deserted island, I started to panic. Who the hell am I going to choose? How am I going to narrow down my personal library to only 5 characters in 5 books? There were so many options and I spent nearly a week just thinking about all of the characters that I’ve come into contact with and what skills they had that might help me survive. After mulling it over and pouring over many, many books I finally came to a decision and began to compile my list. Anywhere here goes…
First on my list of survival companions is Ford Prefect from The Hitch Hikers Guide to The Galaxy. Ford is a traveling alien and writer for a travel companion entitled The Hitch Hikers Guide to The Galaxy. After being stranded on earth for 15 years he finally manages to hitch a lift on a Vogon construction ship after it vaporises the earth to make way for an interstellar bypass taking his earth friend, Arthur Dent with him for the journey and they manage to hitch hike their way across the galaxy, even if it is a bit of a bumpy ride.
The reason I’m choosing Ford as a companion is because he has incredible survival skills. He always manages to talk himself out of sticky situations including death by Vogon poetry. He’s also a seasoned traveller who is used to surviving with modest means. My final reason for picking him is because after becoming stranded on prehistoric earth with what is left of the Golgafrincham civilisation, consisting of hairdressers, insurance salesmen and telephone sanitisers, he manages not only to survive but to escape and continue trekking across the galaxy. He truly is a incredible survivor and always knows where his towel is.
My second companion choice is from the world of J.R.R Tolkien and comes in the form of a hobbit named Samwise Gamgee. Sam is the faithful side kick to Frodo as they journey across Middle Earth in their quest to destroy the one ring. Together they face danger and peril at every turn including soldiers of Gondor, orcs, goblins, nazgul and of course the giant spider, Shelob. Through it all Sam sticks by Frodo’s side, protecting him and urging him to continue onwards. Sam would be the perfect survival companion for many reasons but I’ll only list a few of his top qualities here. Firstly he is an incredible cook who can make a meal from almost anything and is very good at rationing supplies to make sure they last. He is a fierce warrior for a hobbit and this can be seen in his rescue of Frodo both from Shelob and from the orcs that take Frodo after Sam’s battle with Shelob. He manages to survive it all and his spirit endures through all the trials that these two hobbits face. He is also extraordinary loyal, even after Frodo tells him to leave after being fed lies by Gollum he returns to save his friend and the quest. Sam Would be an incredible asset to our survival team.
Next up is a character that has become well know through a film adaptation. He originally began as a graphic novel character and even though it isn’t a novel I’m going to include him anyway because I can. The next character I’ve chosen to accompany me to the deserted island is V from the graphic novel V for Vendetta. V is a strange character to summarise. His story begins is a medical detention centre in England, which is under the oppressive rule of high chancellor, Adam Sutler and his Norsefire government. This government is tyrannical and oppressive, enforcing curfews, black listing music and art as well as kidnapping, torturing and killing it citizens in the name of national security. The medical detention centre that V in imprisoned in is researching a new virus that is used as a biological weapon against the citizens of England to create fear and coerce them into conformity. V then forms a plan to get revenge and free the people of England from their oppressors. He would make an excellent addition to the team because he has survived so much. He survived the medical testing of a lethal virus which also gave him super human strength, reflexes and speed. He survived the destruction of the medical centre, being hunted by the government for his terrorist acts, including the take over of England’s only media network and the over the top demolition of the old bailey and he managed to survive wave after wave of bullets in his final stand long enough to kill all of his attackers with just knives and speed. His skills would help to keep the group alive against attackers and his skills in stealth would help us to form a home where we would not be found.
The fourth character joining me in my attempt at survival is none other than the best witch of her age, Hermione Granger. She was the first character that I thought of when I began to put together my team because she is just an incredible character and if it weren’t for her I’m not sure that Harry and Ron would have survived past their first week at Hogwarts let alone managed to destroy the darkest wizard of all time. I won’t go into detail on her back story as there is really no need. Harry, Ron and Hermione are known the world over for good reason. Hermione is extraordinarily talented, clever and is a very quick on her feet. She always know what needs to be done to get the job finished and to avoid capture, torture or even death. Her detective and research skills are incredible and she is always the one that figures out what is going on and how to defeat it. She is brave and faces danger head on even if she knows that it will probably end in death, such as being tortured by Bellatrix Lestrange. She is also very good at protecting her friends, if its standing up to Draco Malfoy or casting protective spells on their make shift camp site to make sure that they aren’t discovered. She is definitely the reason that Harry and Ron manage to survive all of their adventures and she is the reason that they complete their quest for Horcruxes. She’s the ultimate heroine and I would be honoured to have her by my side.
My final choice for the team is a character that features in books, film but most predominantly television. It is of course none other than everyones favourite timelord, the Doctor! For anyone that has been living under a rock for the past 50 years the Doctor is a alien that travels through time and space in his ship, the Tardis, with his earthling ompanion. Together they fight many alien races and always manage to save the day. I chose the doctor because he is without a doubt one of my favourite characters of all time and with his skills he would be the perfect companion, thats right companion!I’m positive that he would be able to help me survive though anything. He has faced evils and dangers that others have only seen in their worst nightmares. He is strong, fast and he manages to escape every situations he manages to get entangled in. He fights the forces of evil, not with force but with his mind. He is a true survivor and one of the reasons he’s managed to survive so many perilous situations is because he can’t die. Whenever he suffers a lethal wound he simply regenerates and carries on the good fight. One thing that I do want to point out is that even though the Doctor travels in a remarkable spaceship thats not one of the reasons that I chose him to be part of my survival squad. His ship is remarkable for several reasons such as:
A – It can travel to any point in time or space B – Its bigger on the inside and
C – Its pretty much indestructible.
Although these are all things that would make the Tardis very useful to have if you were stranded on a deserted island, in this particular instance I’m going to remove it from the equation as its the Doctor and his skills that made me choose him, not his flashy gadgets no matter how useful or life saving they could be. I wanted the Doctor because I know he can survive anything. Whether its Daleks, Cybermen, Weeping Angels or even the Master himself the Doctor manages to keep fighting and save the universe once again. If I could only choose one of my team to stick with me, I would definitely choose the Doctor.
There you have it, my ultimate fictional survival team. I think that together I’ve managed to assemble a squad that could face anything. They could fight predators, find shelter, hunt and cook food and also be infinitely interesting to be around. What do you think of my choices? Who would choose for your survival team?
To check out Karl’s blog;
http://geekworldblog.wordpress.com/
This was brilliantly thought out, thank you so much for taking part Karl.
Tomorrow we have Catriona.
VictoriaLovesBooks 