The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

          I am currently reading "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" by Stieg Larsson. This book is told in third person, and so far, I think it's safe to say that there are two main characters. The first main character is radical financial reporter Mikael Blomkvist, who has recently got caught in some trouble including a billionaire corporate leader, some possibly faulty information, and a court sentence of libel. Lisbeth Salander is a thorough investigator at Milton Security. Salander's appearance is a bit... off-putting, but even though her appearance may lead people to think of her as disturbed, or socially inept, her reports are (often disturbingly) comprehensive, and assiduous. I think these two characters are very similar.
          Lisbeth Salander simply does not care what other people think about her. She dresses how she pleases, does as she feels like, and if someone has an opinion, for their sake, they should keep it to themselves. Her wardrobe consists of all black, including many piercings, and her skinny physique leads to her often being mistaken as a child. She tends to keep to herself, and obey and dis-obey orders as she pleases. 
          Mikael Blomkvist is a liberal financial journalist who takes his job as a financial reporter very seriously. He believes in writing about the corrupt financial world as it is, and this generally makes him less popular with the less dedicated financial reporters, and causes politicians and financiers to keep a wary eye.
          I feel like the author chose these two characters for a reason. This book has many important characters and it is often hard to keep track of who is who. Whenever the story goes back to Salander or Blomkvist however, I always anticipate a forthright, biting, honest view of the world from both of them. These characters have a lot in common when it comes to their fundamental beliefs and their core personalities. Throughout her whole life, Lisbeth Salander hasn't ever cared what people thought of her. If she didn't feel like it, she wouldn't even share her thoughts or opinions. When she was in court as a youth, where they were debating what was "wrong" with her, she had the potential to change their minds or share her take on the situation, and yet, she said nothing. Salander however, is none-the-less extremely intelligent. Mikael Blomkvist believes in taking risks in his writing, if he believes that certain knowledge should be made public. Over his many years of financial journalism, he's created an unspoken goal to take down fraudulent business men/women as frequent as possible. Both characters have a significant bravery when it comes to how other people think of them, in the sense that generally, it's not of that much importance. Both characters take their work seriously, digging up awesome information about the people they are working on at the time. Salander and Blomkvist both have a stubbornness about them that can sometimes push them forward, or hold them back.
          In conclusion, I think that the two main characters, Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist are similar in many ways. I think that the author chose to write about two very driven people and I can't wait to see how they connect.