I Brought Damon Salvatore Into Class

My professor was talking about Aristotle's elements of tragedy in today's class. During the discussion, he asked us who our favorite character was. 

Without a moment of hesitation, I said Damon Salvatore. If I had had time to think about it in detail, I might have come up with someone else, but when put on the spot without being given time to think, he was the only one I could think of. We were asked to talk about our character in 2 minutes. Again, another time crunch. I started talking like a bullet train because I had a lot to say about the big bad vampire, Damon Salvatore. 

After this, there was an interesting line my professor said. He said that the flaws we see in the characters we love are overshadowed by the fact that the characters are essentially good people. 

I wanted to follow that thread just a little bit. When you think of Damon, you wouldn't immediately think that he's a good person. You'd think about his love for Elena. You'd think about how he protects her against everything, even if that goes against her wishes. You'd think about how he sometimes betrays his brother and friends to get things done. Sometimes, he solves the problems but doesn't take the righteous route. 

Now, look at those things; most of them lead to someone being a good person. Love. Protection. Getting things done. Solving a problem. Right? But on the other hand, you also think about his flaws. He betrays people. He goes against Elena's wishes. He doesn't always take the righteous route. 

However, what impression are you left with? You'd see the fact that at the end of the series, he has 'reformed,' whatever that means. Reform means different things to different people. But he gets a happy ending, and only good people get happy endings. That's the belief that's been built into us. 

So, I think what my professor talked about was right. The flaws are overshadowed by the fact that characters we love are essentially good - even if they have darkness in them. 

What character would you think of first, if you were put on the spot like this?