Needs a Rename (New Crowner 10.25): Unfazed Everyman

Do I even have to explain what's wrong with this title? I had to scroll halfway down the page to even know who Arthur Dent is. Is there a reason why Human- or Mundane Companion won't work just as well?

PS: Sorry I spaced it when I shouldn't have. The Arthur Dent is the article we're talking about here.

edited 10th Jul '11 7:15:52 AM by DesertDragon

Show misuse. If the name's working fine, then leave it alone. You not knowing The Hitch Hikers Guide To The Galaxy is a damn shame (and also, not relevant. We don't rename tropes just because they're character-named, we rename tropes that AREN'T WORKING with the current name, which might be because it's character-named, but not necessarily).

Seriously though, go read them. Great books.

edited 11th Jul '11 1:29:45 PM by savage

Over 500 wicks and 1000 inbounds between it and Arthur Dent (no "the").

Much as I hate The X type names, this one will require misuse, especially as it clearly passes the One Mario Limit.

"Seriously though, go read them. Great books."

Sci-fi and British comedy have never done it for me, so something that combines the two just doesn't make me want to head to the bookstore. But I suppose if The Libby and The Scrappy are still kosher, then I shouldn't get bent out of shape about one trope-namer I haven't heard of.

I guess it ain't broke, but I really don't think this is a good title. And I've read the books.

Well, aside from the Fan Myopia, what really isn't helping is that Arthur becomes a rather different character depending on which book he's in, or whether he's in the radio show, TV show, or film. For example, the Arthur from the fourth book, and from the movie, actually gets the girl, which would be unthinkable for the Arthur from the first book.

I don't see anything on the page to indicate that Did Not Get the Girl is a necessary component of The Arthur Dent, so I'm not certain what the point you were trying to make with that was.

He's stating that the character of Arthur dent is too in flux for there to be a definitive character trope of him that would pin down exactly what he is and who he's similar too.

edited 14th Jul '11 8:28:22 PM by MousaThe14

Right. Character Named Tropes fail for two main reasons. One is that the character is not known enough for people to get the reference. The other is that the character is known for more things than just the specific trope being described. I think the latter would apply in this case, the former not so much, as there is only one Arthur Dent in literature.

However, it would be useful to see some misuse statistics on this one, not to mention overlap statistics. Personally, I find that the distinction between it and Unlucky Everydude + Audience Surrogate is invisible to anyone but the most careful observer.

edited 14th Jul '11 9:21:33 PM by Fighteer

If it ain't broke, don't fix it. If there is no missue than there is no need for a rename. BTW, I understood what this trope was by the end of the first paragraph

Arthur Dent is certainly something of an archetype here, and it doesn't seem to have any significant misuse. Besides, we shouldn't be held accountable because some tropers don't bother to read the description.

from casual browsing I'm not seeing any misuse. I don't think this is a problem trope, we should move on.

The Arthur Dent fails one of the primary metrics for naming a trope with just the character's name: he's not a character that's widely noted for only one particular characteristic. Is The Arthur Dent a naive fish-out-of-water? an unimaginitive schlub bumbling his way through life? A chaos vortex? A normal guy whose life suddenly goes weird and pear-shaped? A guy who survives all sorts of strange things through sheer luck? Any one of those describes the character. Which one describes the trope?

Oh, It's "an ordinary human with extraordinary companions, in extraordinary circumstances who adapts." Yeah, that fits him too.

Except for the chaos vortex thing (which I don't remember from anywhere), that basically is the trope.

I thought someone had done a wick check, but I guess not. A few redirects wouldn't hurt, either. The Companion is just a reference to Doctor Who.

The Companion and The Arthur Dent feel contradictory with one another. The Companion is the supporting protagonists of Doctor Who, while Arthur Dent is the main protagonist of H 2 G 2. Maybe a rename could work, especially given what Madrugada pointed out.

"Normal Guy Protagonist" or just "The Normal Guy".

Alternatively, we could use a variation of Fish out of Water.

edited 23rd Sep '11 9:30:17 AM by eX

The trope doesn't need to be a protagonist, I think.

Should this come to needing a new name, The Sane Ranger comes to mind...it's lame, I know, but it roughly fits the laconic definition.

edited 23rd Sep '11 10:16:55 AM by Willbyr

Madrugada raises a good point. Someone who does't know the trope might well confuse it with Pajama-Clad Hero, which is what he is most known for.

edited 23rd Sep '11 10:53:34 AM by Michael

My problem with a rename suggestion is that this trope is pretty well established, and none of the suggested renames I've seen really seem to incorporate the full meaning. I think it is best to leave well enough alone this time.

A wick check might be really useful here.

That's certainly not reasoning to leave the trope name alone. This is what I hate about character tropes. Dent is not only known for the characteristic of the trope name, and if you're unfamiliar with AHGTTG then it's meaningless.

It's The Hicthhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, not A. But, yeah, as been said before, Dent is probably more famous for other things than being this.

I'm not really sure how this distinct from Token Human. It's what, Token Human + being casual about being the token human? Is that really a valid subtrope? I would think it applies to MOST Token Humans.

Dent is famous for being know something other than a relatively normal person dragged along on wild and exotic adventure? I mean, that is pretty much what the stories are all about.

Also, Bilbo Baggins is a legit example, and while Hobbits are technically a race of humans, I think changing the name to "Token Human" would create confusion.