The Friend Nobody Likes / Literature

The Friend Nobody Likes in Literature.

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• Ciaphas Cain has an unusual example in Major Toren Divas. An odd example since he also manages to be Cain's best friend (or as close as he gets to one). Cain dislikes him for constantly putting him in danger, being an idiot (and thus putting him in danger) and calling him "Cai". On the other hand he's reliable, not bad company, terrible at playing poker and usually knows the best gossip and drinking spots.
• In A Clockwork Orange, the protagonist Alex is this to his three droogs, though it's not played sympathetically because Alex is a Villain Protagonist; he's the youngest of the four and the meanest, with a stuck-up Wicked Cultured demeanor and a tyrannical idea of authority over his "friends". Of course, The Dog Bites Back when the droogs temporarily blind him and betray him to the brutal police force.
• Semi and Miranda in Dr. Franklin's Island don't really have a choice, since they and argumentative, petulant Arnie are the Sole Survivors of a plane crash and must survive together on a desert island. Arnie resists any plans Miranda comes up with, even though he has to go along with them because they're usually good, refuses responsibilities put on him, eats their stored food and lies about it, comes up with insulting nicknames for both girls, and spends hard-won resources trying to build a poor excuse for a raft. Semi notes that in their time together she considered him a friend, but didn't often like him.
• Ex-Heroes:
  • Private Taylor is a homophobic, racist, misogynistic Blood Knight who is only tolerated by the other Unbreakables because they need an extra fighter and because he willingly sides with them after being removed from Smith's influence. Kennedy outright decks him after he calls her a dyke in Ex-Isle.
  • Harry is a surly follower of the anti-superhero Christian Nguyen and doesn't get along well with either the heroes or the scavengers who regularly work alongside him.
• Harry Potter:
  • In the backstory of Harry Potter, Peter Pettigrew is at least perceived as this by outsiders. He was the least able and respected of his group of friends. He eventually turned on them to serve Voldemort, and even worse is that it's clear that the Marauders themselves really loved him, to the point where the Potters trusted him with their lives, which just makes his betrayal all the more heartbreaking. Incidentally, Pettigrew apparently continues to be this trope amongst the Death Eaters, who respect him even less than the Marauders did — after all, they know he's a traitor.
  • Slytherin House is also this in Hogwarts. While the other houses are on good terms with one another, nobody likes the Slytherins. It doesn't help Slytherin's case that most of its students, i.e. the majority of those we see, are arrogant, racist, elitist snobs that come from pureblood families that think that they're better than anyone else. Pretty much every well-known Slytherin character's parents were also Death Eaters that only got out of going to Azkaban by claiming they were "bewitched."
  • Snape, among the Hogwarts Faculty and the Order of the Phoenix. Everyone finds him to be a very unpleasant person, and Snape doesn't particularly try to deny that image. Still, he has Dumbledore's trust, and therefore everyone else tolerates his presence and gives him their trust as well. It also helps that he is a legitimately brilliant potions brewer, combatant, and a Double Agent among the Death Eaters. This is part of why he can so easily rejoin the Death Eaters; his reputation for being unpopular with Dumbledore's allies is so well-known that nobody questions it.
    Lupin: It all comes down to trust. I trust Dumbledore, and Dumbledore trusts Snape, therefore I trust Snape.
  • Zacharias Smith is part of the Dumbledore's Army, but the only reason he was invited was because he overheard Hermione telling Hannah Abbott and Ernie Macmillan about the first meeting. During the meetings, all he ever does is whine and complain about Harry's lessons and Hermione's organizational skills. Understandably, everyone gets really sick of him.
  • Blaise Zabini appears to be this among Draco Malfoy's friends in Slytherin. Not only does he and Draco make several snide comments towards each other, but when he accidentally falls on Goyle, the much larger Slytherin got quite aggressive towards him. The only one who seems to genuinely like him is Pansy Parkinson, and even she can't resist a few jabs at him.
  • Fenrir Greyback is given this treatment by the Death Eaters, to the point where he technically isn't one. This is largely due to their own bigotry over the fact that he's a werewolf, but also due to his unkempt appearance and tendency to prioritize his own sadism over focusing on their objectives. Both Bellatrix and Yaxley have gotten violent toward him for his insubordination, the Malfoys are all rather dismissive towards him (and Draco is outright creeped out by him), and Voldemort refuses to grant him full Death Eater status (even Peter Pettigrew was given the Dark Mark at least).
• In Sven Hassel's novels, Julius Heide is a would be Niedermeyer, a true-believing Nazi, and generally hard to live with. What keeps him from being fragged is the fact that he's quite useful, and the others know about his past.
• In The Hearts We Sold, most demons seem to be on at least civil terms with each other, working together and treating each other respectfully. However, in the case of the Daemon, he's treated dismissively at best, and outright insulted at worst. Apparently, other demons don't like how closely he's willing to work with humans.
• Helen and Troy's Epic Road Quest: Franklin is Nigel's human coworker who's really into Orc culture, feeling a desire to live out the badass ideal of orc barbarism due to how boring his own life is in comparison. His overeagerness comes across as reckless and annoying to the rest of the Wild Hunt gang, made all the more difficult because he can discern the mistreatment his antics earns him from "orcish camaraderie." Nigel even theorized that the gods had put Franklin in their group just to make their lives harder.
• Jeeves and Wooster:
  • In Right Ho, Jeeves, Cloudcuckoolander Bertie admits he is one when his Aunt Dahlia wants him to come at once:
    Bertie: But why, Jeeves? Dash it all, she's just had nearly two months of me.
    Jeeves: Yes, sir.
    Bertie: And many people consider the medium dose for an adult two days.
    Jeeves: Yes, sir. I appreciate the point you raise.
  • Being the embodiment of Unwanted Assistance, there are some reasons to put up with Bertie: Seniority (going with someone to school together is Serious Business in Wodehouse's universe), Pity, Supervision (Jeeves), and most of all, he is The Team Benefactor, providing the solution to all problems:
    Bertie: Ah, well, we must see what can be done. Things may brighten. At any rate, you will be glad to learn that I am behind you in this enterprise. You have Bertram Wooster in your corner, Gussie.
    Gussie: Thanks, old man. And Jeeves, of course, which is the thing that really matters.
• Legends & Lattes: Fennus was disliked by everybody in Viv's old adventuring party, but they put up with him because he was competent. This may be a factor in his belief that on their last mission, Viv unfairly withheld the Scalvert's Stone from the rest of them despite leaving a fortune behind, leading him to antagonize her new coffee shop and eventually burn it down and steal the Stone.
• Lumbanico, the Cubic Planet: When the main characters are summoned to a council of the Great Guardians, and Pirela angrily and openly suggests Pirreno Zyr to mind his business, his partners try to stifle their laughs. Since the other Guardians find Pirreno a very annoying jerkass, they enjoy seeing him being told off by a thirteen-year-old girl.
• In Malazan Book of the Fallen it's not surprising that Clip's jerkass attitude doesn't endear him to the other Andii of Nimander's group, but they do care for him while he is in a coma and even risk their lives to get his soul back. Mostly because they are decent people and feel they have to help him, after journeying with him for months.
• Nevermoor: Baz Charlton is a member of the Wundrous Society, but is disliked by everyone for being a bigoted, loudmouthed boor who never thinks before he speaks. Other Wunsoc members also frown on his habit of scooping up dozens of candidates each year, regardless of whether or not they're truly ready, and entering them into the Trials in the hopes that one of them will make it through — a strategy that works "maddeningly often." He does have at least a few candidates that genuinely like him and follow his example, much to the distress of their teachers. However, his latest "star candidate," Cadence, openly hates his guts and pretty much stops interacting with him after he successfully gets her into Wunsoc.
• In A New Dawn, none of the other characters are particularly fond of Skelly, but they keep him around anyway, mostly because he actually knows what he's talking about when it comes to explosives.
• In Prophecy Approved Companion one of the party members, renamed Definitely Bad Guy by the player character, is liked only by Qube, who likes everyone. Even the team pet, Squiggles, dislikes him.
• Linda, a mother in Frida's class from The School for Good Mothers: Being known for having six children with different fathers and neglecting them does not make her popular. Neither does performing at the top of the class. Or starting a fight with another mother and getting her expelled while she escapes punishment.
• A Song of Ice and Fire:
  • The Freys are this to their Northern allies and the Rivermen. Robb Stark only grudgingly agrees to marry a girl of their house to cement their allegiance since the Freys control the only reliable river crossing for hundreds of miles, but he breaks this off and marries another girl soon after. It's telling that they're less popular than another allied House, the Boltons, who regularly flay people alive. Even after betraying the Starks in the Red Wedding, a sickening breach of Sacred Hospitality by Westerosi standards, the Lannisters, their newfound allies regularly make their distaste for them clear. If anything it made things significantly worse, as the Freys' actions have made them a by-word for treachery across much of the continent, rather than just being seen as greedy, jumped-up latecomers. As one ally puts it at a council of war, "I'd sooner drink a pint of piss than trust the word of a Frey."
  • Stannis Baratheon was this among the leaders of the Rebellion, partially because he spent most of the Rebellion under siege, which held the loyalist Tyrell army at Storm's End but meant he didn't take an active part in Robert's "glorious" battles, and partially because he generally acted like a cold and antisocial loner.
• Spy School:
  • Zoe is the only person who really gets along with Warren. In the third book when listing the various skills of everyone she picked to come on the mission with her, Zoe admits she only brought Warren because he would have sulked if she didn't.
  • Erica herself is an odd example. While everyone appreciates her skill set, her strict professionalism and reluctance to socialize mean that her eventual boyfriend Ben is the only one to get along with her well on a personal level (especially in the earlier books).
• The Storm Swimmer: Scarlett, a girl whose parents own the caravan park, is disliked by the other kids for being bossy and rude. The Olivias still spend all their time with her because her dad owns a pump track and a water park. Scarlett is aware of how most people feel about her and is upset about it, but doesn't know how to make people like her.
• In The Strange Case of Origami Yoda, Harvey hangs out with Tommy and co but does nothing but whine and argue with them. It's pretty obvious that none of them like him because of his behavior, yet they keep him around anyway. This goes further in the sequel, where Harvey goes from obstructive friend to antagonist, and even gets one of them suspended from school.
• Bar-temah from This Other World is an immigrant from Earth, like Vonika. He insists he's completely assimilated and is a true Temian at heart, but his attempts at adopting the local culture are so aggressive and tacky that he mostly ends up alienating people. Vonika finds him annoying, but she ends up spending time with him anyway because of their shared background.
• Arrogant chauvinist Charles Tansley from To the Lighthouse, whom most of the characters tolerate out of Edwardian politeness alone.
• Francis Begbie in Trainspotting. Renton and the rest of the gang basically pretend to be Begbie's friend because they're scared of him. Renton details a list of lies that one must pretend to believe in order to hang out with Begbie and not get beaten up. The sequels established that they had all been friends at school, but by the time of the story he had just become psychotically violent and domineering.
• Lauren and Jessica fulfill this role to some extent in The Twilight Saga.^note In the films, this is not the case. Lauren and Jessica are merged into a much more tolerable person for whom no one holds contempt. Both are generally looked on with distaste by most of the other human friends Bella has (and by Bella herself, for that matter), yet the two continue to participate in group outings and the like. In fact, Jessica is one of the human friends who hangs out with Bella the most. What makes this all rather strange is that according to Stephenie Meyer, Lauren was the most popular girl in the school, before Bella showed up.
• P. G. Wodehouse's Ukridge infuriates everyone on a regular basis, but somehow still manages to bounce back. People like Corky and George Tupper do seem to be genuinely fond of him, but that doesn't mean that their backlog of exasperation about him can't boil over from time to time.
• Unseen Academicals:
  • Andy Shank is described as having friends solely because it's marginally safer than being his enemy. It's specifically stated, also, that people follow him because it's safer than being in front of him.
  • Carter "The Farter", who is described as not easy to like. Even Trev doesn't like him much, but he at least feels sorry for him and tries to give him some advice.
• In Vampiros do Rio Douro, the Seven get along with each other just fine... Except with Sétimo. They are scared shitless of him because he was the one they sacrificed to the Devil to become vampires, but he rose as one too being the strongest, most dangerous and capable of withstanding the sun. The one who fears him the least is Gentil, but that is because Sétimo was his biological brother when they were humans.