A Game Of Thrones Character Analysis

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A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin is a complex novel filled with an equally complex and diverse set of characters. Martin explores and questions many aspects of humanity, society, and morality by creating three-dimensional, imperfect characters. For many of these characters, it is difficult to determine whether they should be considered good or evil due to the fact that they are so human and realistic. Some characters are easy to love, and others, like Joffrey Baratheon, are incredibly easy to hate. It can be difficult to talk about Joffrey without immediately wanting to write him off as one of the cruelest and worst characters ever created. Not many people stop to ask why he is the way he is. What caused him to become so mean and sadistic? …show more content…

It could be a defect due to the fact that he was born from an incestuous relationship. Or maybe the way he was raised shaped his personality significantly. Being raised as a crown prince resulted in him being coddled and getting everything he could ever desire at the snap of his fingers. In addition, he was surrounded by constant political turmoil, and a mixture of different types of unpleasant people. There were not always many strong people around him to set a good or moral example. Whatever the cause of Joffrey’s personality, it is still very obvious that there is something that is not quite right in his mind. Despite being crown prince and facing the expectations of that role, Joffrey Baratheon continuously acts in a way that is so immature, arrogant, and cruel that it is indicative of narcissistic personality disorder and psychopathy. His actions often affect others in a negative …show more content…

He is expected to be noble, gallant, chivalrous, and all the other stereotypes one might find when reading about a prince and future king. None of these words can be used to honestly describe him though. Instead he threatens to tattle on people to his mother when he is upset with them, and he threatens and goads people on, fully aware that they can’t retaliate without major consequences. He does this with Robb Stark when they are practicing swordplay, and with Mykah and Arya in the woods. He acts confident and powerful until he feels threatened: “Joffrey made a scared, whimpery sound as he looked up at her. “No,” he said, “don’t hurt me. I’ll tell my mother’”(Martin 126). By threatening to tell his mother, he takes the consequences of his actions off of himself and places them on those that he wronged. He knows that no matter what he does, his mother will always take his side, even if the other person is right. The other person will often get a severe punishment, much like the Starks did when they were commanded to kill Sansa’s direwolf, Lady, in place of

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