Eleven: The Five Man Band?
Tropes can prove handy--or that can serve as self-limiting crutches hobbling creativity. A writer may wish to avoid them altogether or (as, hopefully, myself) use them as tools.
Or maybe, toys.
Dracula seems to me a reasonably clear example of the so-called Five Man Band, a trope initially identified in role playing games but since recognized in many other media. Essentially, this serves as a general layout of certain common types of relationships in teams of some kind, although "pure" examples generally seem much harder to find than variations.
The five consist of: (1) the Leader, who essentially makes the decisions for the team (2) the Lancer, who often functions as second-in-command but not always, who essentially is a foil to the Leader, being very opposite them in some pretty primary ways (3) the Heart is someone who functions as an emotional glue holding the group together, their personal relationships with others forming a crucial dynamic (4) the Tank, who cut through things in a straightforward style, usually with little finesse but great effectiveness. This person nearly always is the physically toughest of the bunch, and (5) the Weakest Link, usually the least powerful member or the one most often subject to humiliation. This person can certainly carry their own in the right circumstances, but are generally where trouble arises.
Note these consist not of characters but rather roles. This gives enormous leeway in creating the details of each one. Consider various Lancers--Avon in Blake's Seven, Iron Man in The Avengers, Hermione Granger in Harry Potter, Sam in Lord of the Rings, etc. By any measure a fairly diverse group!
More importantly, because these involve roles rather than character traits per se, part of the most fascinating aspects of this lies in watching characters change their roles. On Buffy the Vampire Slayer for example Willow evolved from the Weakest Link to the Tank (although both those roles shifted throughout the series). Likewise in Star Wars Luke begins as the Heart and becomes the Leader (taking that role from Leia) then in the latest film essentially functions as Rey's Lancer.
Apply this to Bram Stoker's novel. Van Helsing would seem the Lancer save that he really functions as the Leader, with Mina as his Lancer. Likewise we are in some way supposed to see Quincey as the Heart, at least from the others' reactions to his death. Yet Quincey also seems the Tank at times who slays the vampire at the end with the help of Harker, who in most ways seems the Weakest Link.
This rather neatly demonstrates my thesis (which I intend to use) in that the trope of the Five Man Band functions as a fluid set of roles--with loads of possibility. Or (in terms of drama) a set of roles that breaks down and does not work.
To be continued
Or maybe, toys.
The five consist of: (1) the Leader, who essentially makes the decisions for the team (2) the Lancer, who often functions as second-in-command but not always, who essentially is a foil to the Leader, being very opposite them in some pretty primary ways (3) the Heart is someone who functions as an emotional glue holding the group together, their personal relationships with others forming a crucial dynamic (4) the Tank, who cut through things in a straightforward style, usually with little finesse but great effectiveness. This person nearly always is the physically toughest of the bunch, and (5) the Weakest Link, usually the least powerful member or the one most often subject to humiliation. This person can certainly carry their own in the right circumstances, but are generally where trouble arises.
Note these consist not of characters but rather roles. This gives enormous leeway in creating the details of each one. Consider various Lancers--Avon in Blake's Seven, Iron Man in The Avengers, Hermione Granger in Harry Potter, Sam in Lord of the Rings, etc. By any measure a fairly diverse group!
More importantly, because these involve roles rather than character traits per se, part of the most fascinating aspects of this lies in watching characters change their roles. On Buffy the Vampire Slayer for example Willow evolved from the Weakest Link to the Tank (although both those roles shifted throughout the series). Likewise in Star Wars Luke begins as the Heart and becomes the Leader (taking that role from Leia) then in the latest film essentially functions as Rey's Lancer.
Apply this to Bram Stoker's novel. Van Helsing would seem the Lancer save that he really functions as the Leader, with Mina as his Lancer. Likewise we are in some way supposed to see Quincey as the Heart, at least from the others' reactions to his death. Yet Quincey also seems the Tank at times who slays the vampire at the end with the help of Harker, who in most ways seems the Weakest Link.
This rather neatly demonstrates my thesis (which I intend to use) in that the trope of the Five Man Band functions as a fluid set of roles--with loads of possibility. Or (in terms of drama) a set of roles that breaks down and does not work.
To be continued
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