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as lack of moral ambiguity. To them, people are never simply good or bad. Displaying characters as such in fiction is thusly deemed as unworthy of greatness.
Imo, this is a sad point of view. I read a lot of literary fiction. I read it for the quality of the writing more than the love of the characters. Most characters are beset with all manner of moral ambiguity. For some reason, many critics are put off by an honorable character--unless he's also an alcoholic, drug addict, etc. Since no one in real life is perfect, a fictional character must be highly flawed to be believable.
But that's what's funny. The average person is rarely so conflicted as such characters. One may relate to what Holden Caufield does and says, but few are anything like the young man. For the snobs, though, it's okay to exaggerate humanity's flaws--just not its greatness.
Perhaps these people should ask why books like To Kill a Mockingbird last for as long as they do. Why are 'hero' stories always far more popular than 'man as he is, so long as he's highly flawed' type movies? But they cannot be bothered with such questions. They're too busy opining on what others should think.
