Tintin in Tintin in Tibet (Hons:Sem-III)-CC-VI (Popular Literature)

Character of ‘Tintin’ in Tintin in Tibet

Q. Character of ‘Tintin’ in Tintin in Tibet

Answer: Tintin is the titular protagonist of The Adventures of Tintin, the comic series by Belgian cartoonist Hergé. He is a reporter and adventurer who travel around the world with his dog Snowy. The character was created in 1929 and introduced in le Petit Vingtième, a weekly youth supplement to the Belgian newspaper le Vingtième Siècle. He appears as a young man; around 14 to 19 years old with a round face and quaff hairstyle. Tintin has a sharp intellect, can defend him, and is honest, decent, compassionate, and kind. Through his investigative reporting, quick-thinking, and all-around good nature, Tintin is always ready to solve the mystery and complete the adventure.

Unlike more colorful characters that he encounters, Tintin's personality is neutral, which allows the reader not merely to follow the adventures however assume Tintin's position within the story. Combined with Hergé's signature ligne Claire ("clear line") vogue, this helps the reader "safely enter a sensually stimulating world".

As his adventures continue, Tintin is less often seen reporting and is more often seen as a detective, pursuing his investigative journalism from his flat at No. 26 Labrador Road. Tintin occupies all of his time with his friends, exploring the bottom of the sea, the tops of the mountains, and the surface of the Moon. Through it all, Tintin finds himself cast in the role of international social crusader, sticking up for the underdog volume onward, Hergé depicted Tintin as being adept at driving or fixing any mechanical vehicle that he comes across, including cars, motorcycles, airplanes, and tanks.

Given the opportunity, Tintin is at ease driving any automobile, has driven a moon tank, and is comfortable with every aspect of aviation. He is also a skilled radio operator with knowledge of Morse code. He packs a solid punch to a villain's jaw when necessary, demonstrates impressive swimming skills, and is a crack shot. He proves himself a capable engineer and scientist during his adventure to the Moon.

He is also an excellent athlete, in outstanding condition, able to walk, run, and swim long distances. Hergé summarized Tintin's abilities thusly: "a hero without fear or reproach." more than anything else, Tintin is a quick thinker and an effective diplomat. He is simply an expert, good at almost everything, which is what Hergé himself would have liked to be.

Tintin's personality evolved as Hergé wrote the series. Peeters related that in the early Adventures, Tintin's personality was "incoherent", in that he was "sometimes foolish and sometimes omniscient, pious to the point of mockery so unacceptably aggressive", ultimately just serving as a "narrative vehicle" for Hergé's plots.

Hergé biographer Pierre Assouline noted that within the early Adventures, Tintin showed "little sympathy for humanity". Assouline delineate the character as "obviously celibate, excessively virtuous, chivalrous, brave, a defender of the weak and oppressed, never looks for hassle but always finds it; he is capable, takes chances, is discreet, and is a nonsmoker." Michael Farr deemed Tintin to be an intrepid young man of high moral standing, with whom his audience can identify.

His rather neutral personality permits a balanced reflection of the evil, folly, and rashness that surrounds him, allowing the reader to assume Tintin's position within the story rather than merely following the adventures of a strong protagonist. To the other characters, Tintin is honest, decent, compassionate, and kind. He is also modest and reticent, which Hergé also was, and is the most loyal of friends, which Hergé strove to be. The reporter does have vices, becoming too tipsy before facing the firing squad (in The Broken Ear) or too angry when informing Captain Haddock that he nearly cost them their lives (in Explorers on the Moon).

However, as Michael Farr observed, Tintin has "tremendous spirit" and, in Tintin in Tibet, was appropriately given the name Great Heart. By turns, Tintin is innocent, politically crusading, escapist, and finally cynical. If he had perhaps too much of the goody-goody about him, at least he was not priggish; Hergé admitting as much, saying, "If Tintin is a moralist, he's a moralist who does not take things too seriously, so humour is never far away from his stories." it is this sense of humour that makes the appeal of Tintin really international.

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