Seamus

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Brenda Creech
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Re: Seamus

Post by Brenda Creech »

freshbook wrote: 24 Mar 2020, 17:45 I understood his character. But, I didn't really enjoy him. I thought he was going to be the 'good guy' in the end to 'scare Hillary' into leaving to save her life. He just ended up going completely ballistic with his plan.
I thought he was going to be the good guy too. What he did to Claire was insane! I guess maybe his guilt of Bridget finally got the best of him!
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Post by Brenda Creech »

Carolreads30 wrote: 25 Mar 2020, 08:08
wendilou49 wrote: 04 Mar 2020, 23:27 I didn't like him at all. Her had no concern about Bridget's safety, he was just concerned about getting his big bucks. A liar and a skunk!
I have to disagree as I believe that he loved Bridget, but he was caught up in a scheme that had evolved into something that he never expected. I think that he was a little naïve and thought that Bridget would not be hurt.
I don't know - he was afraid to back out of the deal himself. Or was it purely greed? I think he knew what a nut-case Dermot had become, and knew he was dangerous, so he should have taken things more seriously over Bridget's safety. She was getting what was equivalent to voodoo dolls every day! That should have told him things were no longer like they were when he first got into the amusement park deal. I agree that he had feelings for Bridget, but he did everything in his power to get her to back off about the memorial because he wanted the money.
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Post by Brenda Creech »

Bothofus07 wrote: 25 Mar 2020, 09:01 I think Seamus took a conflicted character to a new level. Maybe you liked him at the beginning, then hoped for a redemption arc, but one bad decision after another just led to his downfall.
You are absolutely right! I did like him at first, but that quickly changed!
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Post by Kaitlyn Canedy »

I feel that I have a sort of love/hate relationship with Seamus. I feel that he did love Bridget, but it is even mentioned a few times that this part was not supposed to happen.

And what he did to Claire at the end? Wow... That was unexpected and twisted. I know why he did it, but to put a little girl in danger like that is completely insane.

At the same time, I feel that Seamus was torn between greed and love. Once Bridget died, his character seemed more negative and depressed than before. Once she was gone, he had nothing left to live for except for the money from the amusement park. Even though the book does not mention a whole lot about this struggle, it is definitely implied.
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Post by aacodreanu »

Katie Canedy wrote: 25 Mar 2020, 15:13 I feel that I have a sort of love/hate relationship with Seamus. I feel that he did love Bridget, but it is even mentioned a few times that this part was not supposed to happen.

And what he did to Claire at the end? Wow... That was unexpected and twisted. I know why he did it, but to put a little girl in danger like that is completely insane.

At the same time, I feel that Seamus was torn between greed and love. Once Bridget died, his character seemed more negative and depressed than before. Once she was gone, he had nothing left to live for except for the money from the amusement park. Even
though the book does not mention a whole lot about this struggle, it is definitely implied.
I am delighted with your "reading" of Seamus. His character seems much clearer now that you have identified the reasons for his actions. He is neither all bad nor all good, so very much like real people.
Thank you for commenting!
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Post by wendilou49 »

Carolreads30 wrote: 25 Mar 2020, 08:08
wendilou49 wrote: 04 Mar 2020, 23:27 I didn't like him at all. Her had no concern about Bridget's safety, he was just concerned about getting his big bucks. A liar and a skunk!
I have to disagree as I believe that he loved Bridget, but he was caught up in a scheme that had evolved into something that he never expected. I think that he was a little naïve and thought that Bridget would not be hurt.
Thanks for replying. You may be right that he loved Bridget, but he was out for the big win and even she wasn't allowed to be more important than that.
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Post by mary-annef »

He's undoubtedly a bad guy, but I have to be honest and say I don't think his character was well handled. I got the impression that the author was making him up as she went along. I feel there are two options to explain his behaviour, either he is a narcissist or he's morally corrupt, weak-willed and greedy. As a narcissist, he could mirror normal emotions for form's sake, but in reality, view everything only as it applies to him. So he would mourn Bridget, but only in the sense of missing how she made him feel or how he was perceived as being part of a couple with her. He wouldn't have empathy with how scared she must have been or how her own life was cut short. It would explain his actions with Claire, seeing the child only as a means to achieve his own desires. If he was just morally corrupt he would feel guilt and shame over his actions, and probably look to justify them or find some way to blame others - if Bridget had only listened, he wouldn't have had to take the actions he did etc. I think we see shifts between the two options.
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Post by aacodreanu »

mary-annef wrote: 26 Mar 2020, 04:03 He's undoubtedly a bad guy, but I have to be honest and say I don't think his character was well handled. I got the impression that the author was making him up as she went along. I feel there are two options to explain his behaviour, either he is a narcissist or he's morally corrupt, weak-willed and greedy. As a narcissist, he could mirror normal emotions for form's sake, but in reality, view everything only as it applies to him. So he would mourn Bridget, but only in the sense of missing how she made him feel or how he was perceived as being part of a couple with her. He wouldn't have empathy with how scared she must have been or how her own life was cut short. It would explain his actions with Claire, seeing the child only as a means to achieve
his own desires. If he was just morally corrupt he would feel guilt and shame over his actions, and probably look to justify them or find some way to blame others - if Bridget had only listened, he wouldn't have had to take the actions he did etc. I think we see shifts between the two options.
A great way to describe a character! I am thinking, like Luigi Pirandello's "Six Characters in Search of an Author", the characters of this book might visit their author with a complaint for neglect. :)
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Post by mary-annef »

aacodreanu wrote: 26 Mar 2020, 04:40
mary-annef wrote: 26 Mar 2020, 04:03 He's undoubtedly a bad guy, but I have to be honest and say I don't think his character was well handled. I got the impression that the author was making him up as she went along. I feel there are two options to explain his behaviour, either he is a narcissist or he's morally corrupt, weak-willed and greedy. As a narcissist, he could mirror normal emotions for form's sake, but in reality, view everything only as it applies to him. So he would mourn Bridget, but only in the sense of missing how she made him feel or how he was perceived as being part of a couple with her. He wouldn't have empathy with how scared she must have been or how her own life was cut short. It would explain his actions with Claire, seeing the child only as a means to achieve
his own desires. If he was just morally corrupt he would feel guilt and shame over his actions, and probably look to justify them or find some way to blame others - if Bridget had only listened, he wouldn't have had to take the actions he did etc. I think we see shifts between the two options.
A great way to describe a character! I am thinking, like Luigi Pirandello's "Six Characters in Search of an Author", the characters of this book might visit their author with a complaint for neglect. :)
Indeed! Thanks for the reference - it looks very interesting.
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Post by KimberlyS88 »

I say he is a bad guy because like you said, one is the reasons is his greediness.
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Post by Brenda Creech »

Katie Canedy wrote: 25 Mar 2020, 15:13 I feel that I have a sort of love/hate relationship with Seamus. I feel that he did love Bridget, but it is even mentioned a few times that this part was not supposed to happen.

And what he did to Claire at the end? Wow... That was unexpected and twisted. I know why he did it, but to put a little girl in danger like that is completely insane.

At the same time, I feel that Seamus was torn between greed and love. Once Bridget died, his character seemed more negative and depressed than before. Once she was gone, he had nothing left to live for except for the money from the amusement park. Even though the book does not mention a whole lot about this struggle, it is definitely implied.
Oh, I agree with you! His behavior after Bridget died shows his guilty conscience. He knew he should have taken things more seriously and tried to protect her. He was definitely torn between her and the money.
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Post by Brenda Creech »

mary-annef wrote: 26 Mar 2020, 09:29
aacodreanu wrote: 26 Mar 2020, 04:40
mary-annef wrote: 26 Mar 2020, 04:03 He's undoubtedly a bad guy, but I have to be honest and say I don't think his character was well handled. I got the impression that the author was making him up as she went along. I feel there are two options to explain his behaviour, either he is a narcissist or he's morally corrupt, weak-willed and greedy. As a narcissist, he could mirror normal emotions for form's sake, but in reality, view everything only as it applies to him. So he would mourn Bridget, but only in the sense of missing how she made him feel or how he was perceived as being part of a couple with her. He wouldn't have empathy with how scared she must have been or how her own life was cut short. It would explain his actions with Claire, seeing the child only as a means to achieve
his own desires. If he was just morally corrupt he would feel guilt and shame over his actions, and probably look to justify them or find some way to blame others - if Bridget had only listened, he wouldn't have had to take the actions he did etc. I think we see shifts between the two options.
A great way to describe a character! I am thinking, like Luigi Pirandello's "Six Characters in Search of an Author", the characters of this book might visit their author with a complaint for neglect. :)
Indeed! Thanks for the reference - it looks very interesting.
I believe he did feel guilt and shame over his actions. I think that is why he flipped out at the tower with Claire. So, of the two options, I'd say he was morally corrupt.
B. Creech
"Like beauty in the eyes, the divinity of the rose may be in the nose that smells it, and the lover that beholds it." Eckhart Aurelius Hughes
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Post by Raycheal+2020 »

If looks could kill, Seamus would have long been dead. He was didn't fall into anyone's good book including myself. I kept imagining how someone can claim to be in love yet, he does the opposite. Does he know what love means?

Most times I felt like jumping into the book an giving him the beating of his life. Did you see what he did to Claire? Unbelievable!!!

I really pitied Bridget for blindly trusting that guy. She wasted her love for him, for the wrong person.
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Post by Brenda Creech »

KimberlyS88 wrote: 26 Mar 2020, 12:19 I say he is a bad guy because like you said, one is the reasons is his greediness.
That's what bothered me the most about him, his greed.
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Post by Brenda Creech »

Raycheal+2020 wrote: 26 Mar 2020, 13:31 If looks could kill, Seamus would have long been dead. He was didn't fall into anyone's good book including myself. I kept imagining how someone can claim to be in love yet, he does the opposite. Does he know what love means?

Most times I felt like jumping into the book an giving him the beating of his life. Did you see what he did to Claire? Unbelievable!!!

I really pitied Bridget for blindly trusting that guy. She wasted her love for him, for the wrong person.
I love your response! Especially about jumping into the book! If you really love someone you will do everything in your power to protect them, which he didn't. And what he did to Claire was so awful and scary! I think, if Bridget had lived, she would have seen his true colors before she took the step of marriage.
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