Writing Theory: The Morally Grey Character
The morally grey character is the character within the narrative that is neither light nor dark, good nor evil. They are a character who does not fear to do what is wrong or to do what is difficult in order to do right, just so long as they survive/or achieve their goals. A morally grey character will oft at times seem very villainlike. They will not usually be liked as a person and will likely be ostracised for their choices in life by your heroes. A morally grey character is a difficult balance to achieve as we want the audience to judge their attitudes to the world but also to still like them on some level so hiw do we approach it?
What makes a character morally grey?
Being morally grey does not mean your character will be slaughtering younglings one minute and then petting baby bunnies the next. These characters are complex. You have to find the balance between sociopath and ray of sunshine.
Common traits of a Morally Grey Character
They will usually follow their own sense of justice and their own rules.
They will have their own ideas about wrong and right.
They will have their own the limits. They will push the normal limits, going past the brink of what a traditional hero will do to achieve their goals.
They are unpredictable. Remember, they don't think like your regular brand if hero or character.
They are not robots. They will have feelings. They will love, they will hate, they will cry, they will laugh. They might be morally deficient but they are people.
They usually have a weak point. In the morally grey character it often makes them darker because of it. It is their frontier, often the reason why they are what they have become.
How to Write a Morally Grey Character
Nobody likes somebody who is a dick for no reason. Nobody likes a Snape. Your Morally Grey Character cannot just make these choices just for laughs. They need reasons. This makes a Reader bond more easily with your character and allow them to understand why your character is doing these things. For example, Tyrion Lannister had a singer dismembered and fed to the poor of the city. He did this to save his girlfriend lest the singer open his mouth and tell Lord Tywin about it, who had threatened to execute any woman Tyrion banged.
#2 They must have a weak spot.
Like I said above, they need a weak spot. The weak spot works as the character's human side, the one thing that is certain to ensure your reader understands them on some level. Sometimes it is even the reason why they make morally grey choices. Everyone has a weakness whether it somebody they love or something they would do anything to protect. For example, June Osbourne in A Handmaid's Tale begins the story a very traditional downtrodden hero. As we move on through the story, June turns to murder, espionage and pretty dark behaviour to try and save her daughters and the other Handmaids from the hell known as the patriarchy Gilead.
The morally grey character often has an underlying reason of why they are the way they are. Their behaviour is usually born from a bad experience. For example, Kaz Brekker from a Six of Crows has a particular harrowing one. As a kid, he travelled to the city with his brother with all the money they had in the world. Kaz's older brother Jordie got swindled out of their money which led to them being homeless and to Jordie's death. Kaz grows up to be an unscrupulous gangster, who trusts nobody fully and ends up creating an elaborate scheme to avenge his brother's death and the downfall of the man who betrayed he and his brother.
You can keep these lessons in your mind in a quick equation: Reasons + Weakness + Background= Action/Choice
Choosing your Morally Grey Character's Decisions and Actions
Using the first three, you must begin to put yourself into the mindset of your character. When faced with a decision between what they believe in and what is morally right, what will they do? You have the blueprint of what they will do from the three steps above.
June Osborne from Handmaid's Tale comes upon her ally's wife, Mrs Lawrence who has taken an overdose. June appears first to want to get help but instead, leaves Mrs Lawrence to her fate. June does this because Mrs Lawrence is a loose cannon who is in danger of ruining June's operation in getting the children out of Gilead. So our quick sum to see whether to makes sense: Saving the Children + the lives of the Children + June's two failed attempts at escape.
Kaz Brekker from Six of Crows is interrupted in one if his heists by the homeowner's daughter. Kaz frightens the little girl half to death threatening to come back and kill her and her family if she dies not return to bed, playing on her fears that he is the boogeyman. Now let's see whether this makes sense: They need to get in and get out if the house & the kid will jeopardise their escape + Kaz doesn't want to kill a kid + Kaz was once that frightened child.
In Peaky Blinders, Tommy Shelby sells out his closest relatives to the government leading to their immediate arrest and coming execution. Now let's see if it makes sense: It was going to happen anyway with or without his consent + his grief over his wife's death + Tommy is a solider and he's used to watching his fellow soldiers die
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