--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Give the reader at least one character he…" description: "\"Give the reader at least one character he or she can root for.\" — Kurt Vonnegut" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/86a/kurt-vonnegut-41_books_give-the-reader-at-least-one-character-h_2293545.jpg" --- # Give the reader at least one character he or she can root… ![“Give the reader at least one character he or she can root for.” quote by Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/86a/kurt-vonnegut-41_books_give-the-reader-at-least-one-character-h_2293545.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/86a/kurt-vonnegut-41_books_give-the-reader-at-least-one-character-h_2293545.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/86a/kurt-vonnegut-41_books_give-the-reader-at-least-one-character-h_2293545.jpg) > “Give the reader at least one character he or she can root for.” [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writers should create characters that audiences can emotionally support and cheer for. **In simple terms:** Make characters relatable and admirable. Key Takeaway Give readers a hero to root for. Themes character development empathy storytelling Mood engaging hopeful Type inspirational practical When to use this quote - novel writing - screenwriting - comic books - role‑playing games Key Concepts protagonist design emotional engagement Questions to Reflect On - Which traits make a character compelling? - How can you balance flaws and virtues? A Different Perspective A single character may not sustain an entire narrative alone. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Roots](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/roots/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [“1. Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the time was wasted. 2.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/1-use-the-time-of-a-total-stranger-in-such-a-way-that-he-or-she-will/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [our right or wrong use of money is the utmost test of character, as well as the root of happiness or misery, throughout our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/our-right-or-wrong-use-of-money-is-the-utmost-test-of-character-as/) [Dinah Maria Murlock Craik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/) > [“Werther identifies himself with the madman, with the footman. As a reader, I can identify myself with Werther. Historically, thousands of subjects have done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-barthes/werther-identifies-himself-with-the-madman-with-the-footman-as-a/) [Roland Barthes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-barthes/) > [What I need, as a reader, is a character with a heart and a voice and a pulse. I need a character so vivid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/becky-albertalli/what-i-need-as-a-reader-is-a-character-with-a-heart-and-a-voice-and-a/) [Becky Albertalli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/becky-albertalli/) > [You do not characterize by telling the reader about the character. You do it by showing the character thinking, speaking and acting in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/you-do-not-characterize-by-telling-the-reader-about-the-character-you/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [Show the reader what the character thinks about, and then the reader will think about it too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-v-higgins/show-the-reader-what-the-character-thinks-about-and-then-the-reader/) [George V. Higgins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-v-higgins/) > [Industry is the root of all ugliness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/industry-is-the-root-of-all-ugliness/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [The root of the word education is e-ducere, literally, to lead forth, or to bring out something which is potentially present.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-root-of-the-word-education-is-e-ducere-literally-to-lead-forth-or/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [My mother is my root, my foundation. She planted the seed that I base my life on, and that is the belief that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-jordan/my-mother-is-my-root-my-foundation-she-planted-the-seed-that-i-base/) [Michael Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-jordan/) > [The root of suffering is attachment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/the-root-of-suffering-is-attachment/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [Money is the root of all good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/money-is-the-root-of-all-good/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Ignore and ignorance share the same root.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-erskine/ignore-and-ignorance-share-the-same-root/) [Kathryn Erskine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-erskine/) > [There is a barbarism in the American soul, and we must protect some of it by law. To root it out is to endanger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-pierce/there-is-a-barbarism-in-the-american-soul-and-we-must-protect-some-of/) [Charlie Pierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-pierce/) > [No American worth his salt should go around looking for a root. I advance this in all modesty, as a not unreasonable opinion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wyndham-lewis/no-american-worth-his-salt-should-go-around-looking-for-a-root-i/) [Wyndham Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wyndham-lewis/) > [Everything, every part that you approach has to be somehow rooted in yourself. You have to somehow root everything so that it's not just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judi-dench/everything-every-part-that-you-approach-has-to-be-somehow-rooted-in/) [Judi Dench](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judi-dench/) ## More by Kurt Vonnegut > [“You must bloom as a writer and I must bloom as a painter. Everything else about us is uninteresting.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/you-must-bloom-as-a-writer-and-i-must-bloom-as-a-painter-everything/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“People aren't supposed to look back.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/people-aren-t-supposed-to-look-back/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“Have a good nap, did you?” said the porter. “Yes,” said Billy. “Man,” said the porter, “you sure had a hard-on.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/have-a-good-nap-did-you-said-the-porter-yes-said-billy-man-said-the/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“I told him that if we doubted that we are demons in Hell, he should read The Mysterious Stranger, which Mark Twain wrote in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/i-told-him-that-if-we-doubted-that-we-are-demons-in-hell-he-should/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [ “Thomas Jefferson High School \[..\] His high school was named after a slave owner who was also one of the world’s greatest theoreticians on… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/thomas-jefferson-high-school-his-high-school-was-named-after-a-slave/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“I had a certain amount of skill as a dramatist, and Dr. Goebbels wanted me to use it”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/i-had-a-certain-amount-of-skill-as-a-dramatist-and-dr-goebbels-wanted/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [I was some of the mud that got to sit up and look around. Lucky me, lucky mud.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/i-was-some-of-the-mud-that-got-to-sit-up-and-look-around-lucky-me/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“The town was Newport, Rhode Island, U.S.A., Earth, Solar System, Milky Way.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/the-town-was-newport-rhode-island-u-s-a-earth-solar-system-milky-way/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“Her face was one of a kind, a surprising variation that made observers think, Yes--that would be another very nice way for people to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/her-face-was-one-of-a-kind-a-surprising-variation-that-made-observers/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“You finally fell in love, I see,” said Salo. “Only an Earthling year ago,” said Constant. “It took us that long to realize that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/you-finally-fell-in-love-i-see-said-salo-only-an-earthling-year-ago/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“Like all Earthlings at the point of death, Mary Young sent faint reminders of herself to those who had known her. She released a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/like-all-earthlings-at-the-point-of-death-mary-young-sent-faint/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“And contrast Mary Kathleen, if you will, with my wife Ruth, the Ophelia of the death camps, who believed that even the most intelligent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/and-contrast-mary-kathleen-if-you-will-with-my-wife-ruth-the-ophelia/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [Someday, someday, this crazy world will have to end, And our God will take things back that He to us did lend. And if,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/someday-someday-this-crazy-world-will-have-to-end-and-our-god-will/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“They were going back to the slaughterhouse for souvenirs of the war.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/they-were-going-back-to-the-slaughterhouse-for-souvenirs-of-the-war/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“There are plenty of good reasons for fighting," I said, "but no good reason ever to hate without reservation, to imagine that God Almighty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/there-are-plenty-of-good-reasons-for-fighting-i-said-but-no-good/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) [Explore all 2,089 Kurt Vonnegut quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) Christopher K. Krebs > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [“Be careful about reading health books. Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) Markus Herz > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Give the reader at least one character he or she can root for.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kurt Vonnegut" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/give-the-reader-at-least-one-character-he-or-she-can-root-for/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/give-the-reader-at-least-one-character-he-or-she-can-root-for/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/86a/kurt-vonnegut-41_books_give-the-reader-at-least-one-character-h_2293545.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/86a/kurt-vonnegut-41_books_give-the-reader-at-least-one-character-h_2293545.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/86a/kurt-vonnegut-41_books_give-the-reader-at-least-one-character-h_2293545.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Give the reader at least one character he or she can root for.” — Kurt Vonnegut", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Kurt Vonnegut", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Give the reader at least one...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/give-the-reader-at-least-one-character-he-or-she-can-root-for/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/give-the-reader-at-least-one-character-he-or-she-can-root-for/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```