Four Philosophy Ensemble / Literature

• In Akata Witch, Orlu (the Cynic), Sasha (the Apathetic), and Sunny and Chichi switch between the Optimist and the Realist.
• Animorphs:
  • Cynic: Rachel and Marco
  • Realist: Jake
  • Optimist: Cassie
  • Conflicted: Ax
  • Apathetic: Tobias
• Anne and her friends in Anne of Green Gables fill out these philosophies:
  • The Cynic: Jane Andrews
  • The Optimist: Anne
  • The Realist: Diana
  • The Apathetic: Ruby Gillis
• Circle of Magic: Tris (Cynic), Briar (Realist), Sandry (Optimist), and Daja (Apathetic).
• From the Dragonlance novels: Flint (the Cynic), Raistlin (the Realist), Sturm (the Optimist), and Tanis (the Conflicted).
• In the Harry Potter series:
  • The Hogwarts houses (and a generalization of their students):
    • The Cynic: Slytherin
    • The Optimist: Gryffindor
    • The Apathetic: Ravenclaw
    • The Realist: Hufflepuff
    • The Conflicted: Any of the houses above, due to their neutral outlook.
  • Examples among the Death Eaters:
    • The Cynics: Lord Voldemort and Lucius Malfoy.
    • The Optimist: Bellatrix Lestrange.
    • The Realist: Bartemius Crouch Junior.
    • The Apathetic: Severus Snape, Peter Pettigrew.
    • The Conflicted: Narcissa Malfoy.
  • Examples among the Marauders:
    • The Optimist: Remus Lupin
    • The Realist: James Potter
    • The Cynic: Sirius Black
    • The Conflicted: Peter Pettigrew
  • The protagonists tend to switch roles among themselves depending on the topic. As just a single example, Hermione plays the Cynic regarding Divination, the Optimist in discussions of House Elf liberation, the Apathetic towards Quidditch, the Realist in all matters of schoolwork, and the Conflicted when breaking rules.
• Last Scenario: Hilbert (The Idealist), Matilda (the Cynic), Thorve (the Realist), and Lorenza (the Conflicted). The other three party members are all Apathetic for some reason or another; Randolph is the "just along for the ride" variety, Ethan mostly keeps his thoughts to himself, and Zawu (and later Ethan as well) has a different set of goals and priorities.
• Lonely Werewolf Girl: Kalix (the Cynic), Moonglow (the Realist), Vex (the Optimist), and Daniel (the Apathetic).
  • Dominil (the Cynic), Thrix (the Realist), Beauty and Delicious (co-Optimists), and Malveria (the Apathetic).
• In Överenskommelser by Simona Ahrnstedt, with "De skandalösa" providing each 2nd character:
  • Cynics: Seth — a Knight in Sour Armor with questionable morality
    and Magdalena — a Broken Bird Stepford Snarker
  • Realists: Johan — a Nice Guy who will often take the middle ground
    and Ossian — a Dork Knight, who will often take the middle ground
  • Optimists: Beatrice — self-sacrificing, stubborn, impulsive and plucky
    and Gabriel — Self-sacrificing, stubborn and impulsive
  • Conflicted: Sofia — a lovely-but-weak Extreme Doormat
    and Venus — another doormat like the preceding
• The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants: Tibby (the Cynic) is a bitter drama queen. Carmen (the Optimist) has enthusiasm for life. Lena (the Realist) overthinks everything. Bridget (the Apathetic) acts on impulse rather than reason.
• The Spectrum Game:
  • The Cynic: Inigo. In a cast of characters genuinely believing or hoping things will turn out well, Inigo stands out as being the only true pessimist. He is quick to assume the worst case scenario, and generally doesn't believe in blind faith. This does at least make him a highly practical and down-to-earth thinker, but can lead to him choosing inaction because he is too scared of things turning out poorly.
  • The Optimist: Azurine and Makoto. These two are the single most idealistic Spectrums in the story, with Azurine being genuinely sure everything will turn out fine, while Makoto, despite not always believing, will never fail to at least have hope. They have a lot of determination, but it can also lead to naivete on their part, as they often genuinely don't consider the downsides.
  • The Realist: Silas and Scarlett. These two have their fair share of optimism, but they also tend to approach situations with more caution than Azurine or Makoto, and they give both the upsides and downsides of any given situation enough thought to give a nuanced take on said situation, which is why Inigo generally relies on the two of them (particularly Scarlett) for confiding in his plans.
  • The Apathetic: Iago and Minori. While at first glance, they look like an Optimist and a Cynic respectively, they are mainly driven by their own, more self-centred goals - stopping Apex and Libera in Iago's case, and atoning for her past in Minori's. As such, their goal-oriented natures lead them to look at situations from a purely objective viewpoint.
  • The Conflicted: Valerie. She stands out because unlike the other characters, she is mostly a highly indecisive character, as she is constantly second-guessing herself and her thoughts. She looks at scenarios objectively, but usually casts doubt on herself and defers to others to reassure herself.
• The Three Musketeers: Athos (the Cynic), Aramis (the Realist), D'Artagnan (the Optimist), and Porthos (the Apathetic).
• Trainspotting: Villain Protagonist and resident Only Sane Man Renton (the Cynic), born exploiter and Manipulative Bastard Sick Boy (the Realist), dim-witted and Kind Hearted Cat Lover Spud (the Optimist), violent psychopath Begbie (the Apathetic), and clean-cut Smug Straight Edge Tommy, who relies on others for validation (the Conflicted).
• The five dragonets in the Wings of Fire series fill out all five philosophies: The Hero Tsunami (the Realist), The Lancer Glory (the Cynic), The Heart Sunny (the Optimist), The Smart Guy Starflight (the Apathetic), and The Big Guy Clay (the Conflicted).
• The Discworld City Watch novels: Commander Vimes is practically defined by cynicism (he's The Fettered, which is unusual, but only because he's too cynical to trust himself any more than he does anyone else), while the idealistic and charismatic Captain Carrot is equally defined by optimism. Captain Angua is the Realist, mostly admiring Carrot's attitude (except when she finds it exasperating) while being somewhat closer to sharing Vimes's perspective, and Sgt Colon and Cpl Nobbs (who can basically be seen as a single unit) are the Apathetic, generally trying to avoid being part of the main story altogether.

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