People make a lot about the darkness of A Song of Ice and Fire.
And yet, I think this is a misconception. It's dark because it's depicting a war. Wars are not happy cheery things.War is a sort of sickness on human society when all things go haywire and bad becomes good and vice versa. It's important to remember that in Westeros, as in our world, there is goodness, acts of kindness, honor and real, unselfish love..So I'm going to list characters for whom I think kindness is a dominant trait.
Samwell: goes out of his way to rescue Gilly from her father and her bastard son from the Others; essentially looks out for Gilly; sells belongings in an attempt to help the ailing Maester Aemon. Is uncomfortable with the hunting of animals; feels bad for the crows in their cages.
Jon Snow: Jon Snow is tough when he has to be; and he has other motivations than kindness often enough; but he definitely has a kind heart; gives Arya a sword to remember her by, thus showing his insight into her heart; comes to respect and understand a foreign culture enough that he's willing to take the risk of letting them come into his own country as refugees, despite ferocious opposition from his senior officers.
Meera: provides food and protection for the crippled Bran Stark; manages to consistently cheer him up and treat him as a person despite being from a very able-ist society;
Maester Luwin: truly cares for the STark children and serves them until death
Hodor: simply lacks a cruel bone in his ample body. If there was one character who exemplified kindness it'd probably be him.
Yoren: Yoren of the Night's Watch heroically gives his life standing up (with some condemned thieves and criminals) for some hapless orphan children as well as Gendry WAters and Arya Stark, allowing them all to escape(though ultimately, only three will survive.)
I originally had Sansa Stark on this t; I think she commits commit acts of kindness; notably her manipulation of Joffrey to save Dontos and her ability to quell Sweetrobin's shaking sickness; but I think her character is a little too complex to say that kindness is her dominant trait. Tyrion, too, commits some real kindnesses; but also pulls off some decidedly unkind acts.
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