WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS! The following commentaries are for those who have read the full Scoefield series thus far.
Henry Engel A lot of people who knew me in high school say that Henry is basically just me in a nutshell. Knowledgeable in the Bible, seemingly innocent, has the fighting ability of a slightly aggressive teddy-bear, and about as punchable as a three-week-old Golden Retriever puppy (seriously, people said they'd love to beat me up, but said they couldn't because I looked like a sad puppy).
Henry was supposed to be the golden child of Christianity. Essentially an angel. The name "Engel" even means "angel" in German. And throughout most of Scoefield, Henry is exactly that. Until the end, that is. Henry sins. Henry fails. Henry offends. And it is arguably one of the greatest mistakes of Henry's life because he loses his best friend because of it. The first book of the Scoefield series is to drive home a point that even the golden child of Christianity is still a sinner. Though we ought not live in sin and should actively avoid sin as much as we are able, every Christian is a sinner at his or her core.
Many times, I hear people saying that they will have nothing to do with Christianity because it's full of hypocrites. This is true. Christianity is full of hypocrites. Just like a hospital is full of doctors and nurses who can still get sick. Should we be angry at doctors who get Covid, cancer, and Alzheimer's like the rest of us? No. However, we should be wary of doctors who specialize in lung cancer, yet are found smoking outside the facilities later. So there is a ditch on both sides. Let me take the analogy and bring it back to Christianity. If you're going to live your life saying that Christianity is bogus simply because Christians sin, you're off. At the same time, Christians ought be striving not to sin. If the worst sinner you know claims to be Christian, that feels rather off, doesn't it?
Henry, of course, was written for far more than just his fall, because he later showed repentance and did everything he could to save Scoefield both in the literal sense as well as the spiritual. Though some people imagine me to be a carbon copy of Henry, I am not. I would like to be (aside from his major sin) because Henry is everything a Christian ought to be. He is compassionate, patient, a soul-winner, gentle, meek, self-controlled, and full of faith. Henry kept striving to be more and more like Christ. He was flawed, as are we all, but I want to follow the example of Henry and try to be more and more like Jesus as well. And I hope others are motivated likewise.
Bradley Scoefield So many things I could say about Scoefield. Firstly, he was originally never supposed to be the narrator of Engel. Looking back now, I find that kinda funny that I thought that. Scoefield and Engel were one book at the beginning. But, like so many times when writing books, I find that I try to cram too much into one. So, a split was needed. I was still going to have Henry as the narrator for the longest time. The tipping point to where Scoefield was promoted to the main character and narrator of Engel was the fact that I missed his sassiness and sarcasm. That eventually led to another idea of what if I portrayed his struggles in World War II rather than Henry's back in New York? The guilt, the bitterness, the fighting. It all blew my initial idea out of the water of following Henry and Sarah's life back in New York until Henry left for Germany.
Yeesh, that was a long tidbit. Moving on, Scoefield, as I've said in many different places, is the dark side to Henry. They go together, Henry and Scoefield. Fusing those two characters together would bring about me. When fashioning Scoefield, I drew certain qualities of myself such as my temper, sarcasm, determination, apathy, and protective side and I exaggerated them. Not only that, but he's the one that speaks most 1920's-1940's lingo and slang. That takes a lot of time to look up and find out how to properly use it.
I feel like more adults will relate with Scoefield because Scoefield wasn't allowed to be a child. Growing up with a terrible father and a mother that, despite her good qualities, allowed said terrible father to rain misery upon them all the time, he had to become a man much sooner than he should have. There's nothing wrong with maturity, but we should never pressure our children to be older than they are. That's a lesson I need to remind myself a lot. Sometimes I expect too much of my own kids. But they're just kids and they should act like kids. Scoefield, unfortunately, didn't get that.
Sarah Scoefield The princess. That was my first thought about Sarah and it's precisely what both Henry and Scoefield both thought about her. To Henry, she's the princess in a very romantic light and he wants to make her smile and bring her joy. For Scoefield, Sarah was a princess with the regard that she must be protected and provided for.
One of the big critiques I hear all the time when it comes to sibling characters is that the characters are either too loving or they fight too much. I tried to find a nice balance between Sarah and Scoefield, showing that they love each other dearly but aren't afraid to make fun of each other or even blow up into fights.
Of course, in both Scoefield and Engel, Sarah feels more like a side character. When the ideas for Blume first popped into my head, I knew I had to do Sarah for the book. It just made perfect sense and she never got the time to really shine like Henry and Scoefield both had. One of the most difficult parts, however, was to keep her character grounded with what I had already established in previous books. So I brought out the timidity and suspicion with strangers, the worry, and the tendency to be pessimistic. However, Sarah has courage and, even in dark circumstances, she tries her best to do what is right. She had fervor and I liked putting that into Blume, especially in the climax of the book.
I had originally based Sarah a bit off of my wife, but she actually evolved into something of her own person over time. I could definitely see my wife and Sarah becoming friends if Sarah were real, but they're certainly not the same person.
Irmgard Blume Irmgard was created due a lot of little things I wanted to go through in Engel:
1. I wanted a girl that Scoefield felt he needed to protect, bringing forth those memories of Sarah and how he fervently guarded her.
2. I wanted Kommandant Blume to have one redeeming quality that made him human: a decent father. Often times we look back on the Nazi party of World War II and we say that they were monsters and demons and all sorts of hateful things. But the fact remains that they were people, too. Fathers, brothers, sons. They were wrong. They were absolutely wrong in what they did and they did horrible things. There is no denial that they did unspeakably evil things. But they were also people. I wanted to point that out with Horst having a daughter that he cherished.
3. A potential love interest for Scoefield.
It wasn't until I was writing the scene where Irmgard gives Scoefield the rose that I felt I could do more with her, though. I added the passage where Scoefield subtly confesses the crush he has on Irmgard and then specifically described Irmgard being saddened by that. This was to hint at what I would eventually do in Blume by making Irmgard my first homosexual character (and probably my last).
I did this to tackle the subject of homosexuality in Blume and how God does not condone it. I know this may cause a great deal of backlash, but I stand by the truth of the Bible. I would wager that most people who read the Scoefield series are already saved Christians, so Irmgard's character provided a way to address a very awkward situation for us: leading a homosexual to Jesus.
One of the largest issues that I had in my own life growing up is trying to change a person's homosexual desires as top priority rather than getting them saved. I didn't realize I was doing that until later, but I was. I was trying to get them to realize that homosexuality was wrong when that wasn't the primary issue. It would be like trying to convince a thief that stealing is wrong. Is it? Absolutely. But if you focus on that alone, what do you get if you're successful? A reformed thief. Not a soul that is saved from the fires of hell.
The same is true with those of the homosexual persuasion. Reform them and all you get is someone who no longer does one type of sin. And that's only if you're successful. More often than not, trying to convince someone that their lifestyle is wrong will only get them angry at you. Instead of trying to reform someone, point them to Jesus. Show them that they are in danger of hellfire despite homosexuality. Go through the Ten Commandments. Lying, stealing, adultery, etc. Show them that they are in need of a Saviour. Not just because of their homosexual desires, but because they are a sinner in every degree.
That is what I used Irmgard for. As a guide. Not just for how to lead a homosexual to the Lord, but how we ought to be with everyone. Every person is born a sinner. Focus on changing the sin rather than changing the sinner and you are aiming at the wrong target.
Amos Scoefield Amos was always a monster in my mind. That's how I pictured him and envisioned him. On the outside, Amos Scoefield is to look the part of an upstanding American citizen. He's handsome, gentlemanly, strong, an honored veteran, a good businessman, and other things. However, on the inside, he is a raging animal. Like a rabid wolf.
It wasn't up until recently that I wanted to delve more into who Amos was. He isn't even mentioned by name in the first book, and I liked that. I liked having a lot of his life in mystery so all people had was a glimpse of the monster, so to speak. However, there are some books in the works that will show us a bit more of the dark, terrifying man that was Amos Scoefield. Stay tuned!
Horst Blume Not too much to say about Horst. He was a terrible man, but a decent father. That does say something, I guess. There are times when I wonder what it's like for the German people in modern times. No one's going to forget World War II (I'm not saying people should, but it is unfortunate to be automatically looped into that if you're German). Germany will always have that hanging over its head, and I wonder how they think about that time period. Probably the same way many Americans think about the dark times in America's history when it comes to the Native Americans, African Americans, Asian Americans, and others. I suppose every country has its dirty laundry, so to speak.
Isaac Trevor Trevor's one of my favorite characters. He can be funny, sassy, and even scary like Scoefield, but is also the righteous preacher like Henry. In college, there was a guy I knew who was much like Trevor. He was jovial and goofy, but when the situation called for it, he was no pushover. Too many times, I find that Christians are portrayed as wussies in movies, TV shows, and whatnot. Jesus Himself was no wuss. He spoke with boldness and fervor to the religious authorities of the day. He chased people out of the temple with a whip. But He also knew when to be submissive, patient, and kind. He was perfectly balanced and we are to follow Him in His example.
Trevor was the individual I wanted to make that was as close to Jesus as possible. We never see him sin. He shows grace to the humble. He resists the proud. He's never beaten. And he ultimately gives his life for a sinner.
Lucas Engel
[COMING AFTER THE FOURTH BOOK OF THE SCOEFIELD SERIES IS COMPLETE]
Lily Scoefield
[COMING AFTER THE FOURTH BOOK OF THE SCOEFIELD SERIES IS COMPLETE]
Leslie Tanner
[COMING AFTER THE FOURTH BOOK OF THE SCOEFIELD SERIES IS COMPLETE]