Do the Animorphs act like stereotypical siblings and only children?

[KitsuneMarie]

I've always felt like Jake's actions and personality traits are a little incongruous with the fact that he's a younger sibling. He takes charge and is a natural leader; he's decisive, reserved, and burdened by a sense of responsibility.

Being a warrior forces him to mature way too quickly, but I think these are personality traits that he had before he ever met Elfangor. It was in Book #1 that the other Animorphs asserted that Jake was the leader simply because he "just was." It was their preexisting knowledge of his character that made them say this.

Don't get me wrong -- I think younger siblings can certainly have any and all of the qualities I mentioned, but Jake doesn't fit what I think of as a stereotypical little brother.

So that got me thinking: are the rest of the Animorphs in keeping with the stereotypes of their place in their families? What is the stereotype of oldest children, and does Rachel fit it? Is Ax believable as a younger brother? And what about Marco, Cassie, and Tobias as only children?

If they don't fit these stereotypes (and maybe we ought to define what exactly they are), was K.A. trying to make a statement? If, however, she didn't attempt to break out of the stereotypes, was she reinforcing them or just trying to make the characters more believable? And why are there no middle children at all?

Also, what is K.A.'s sibling status? That might be interesting background information.

[RYTX]

And why are there no middle children at all?

Because the middle child isn't worth noticing (I kid, I kid! Somewhat )
Idk about the only child ones, I think I only know one only child irl so I'm not sure how they are supposed to behave. Marco and Tobias had lives a little bit to messed up to be spoiled and Cassie's parents were to down to earth to pamper her like that so, if that's the sterotype, the circumstance made it viable to me
Ax and Rachel I totally believe, Ax over shadowed by a "perfect" older sib, and Rachel, except in dire/rare situations really not being to tied in with her sisters, like most older teen siblings
Even Jake/Tom I believe
Tom was a jerk sometimes, but he was also Jake's idol: not really over shadowing, but setting a standard that encouraged him to be stronger and more resolute. He was a younger sibling striving to work with the older, not for as a worshiper or unwilling minion, but he seemed more set so they'd be equals someday; a friendship closer than brotherhood

[anijen21]

I think Cassie is actually a pretty good representation of an only child, if you're only focusing on the negative stereotypes: spoiled enough to think her way is the only one that has any merit, kind of a self-centered worldview (I mean not in her actual opinions, just, like I said, the fact she was normally unwilling to compromise her "morals" and opinions. Compromise is the first thing you learn when you get a sibling.) Jake...I don't know, I agree with you, but I've heard that if two children are close enough in age their "roles," ie "Big brother" and "little brother" may be reversed. But Tom did kind of seem like a "big brother" before he got infested, what with Jake wanting to play basketball just because his older brother did...um, idk. I did feel like Rachel was a big sister, especially in the early books, and iawtc about Marco and Tobias, it's hard to say because Tobias never really had a "family" in the traditional sense of the word and Marco had to accept very adult responsibilities very early since his dad kind of gave up after Eva "died." Jake's probably the one I have the most problem with, like you said.

[voodooqueen126]

Apparently most of our character is genetics, the only environmental characteristic that matters at all is birth order.
Apparently a good number of American presidents have been youngest children though. (why older children lead the world and why younger children want to change it-a book i have not read).

[Chad32]

I would think environment plays as much a factor as genetics, if not more, but then I'm not a proffessional.

[anijen21]

Nothing like a good nature v. Nurture debate to brighten up the day

[dolphin4077]

In regards to sibling or only child representations, KAA uses stereotypes that are constantly used in stories.  Tom & Jake is an example of the evil older sibling and the good younger or youngest sibling, think Cain and Able.  If the hero(ine) isn't an orphan, they have evil older siblings.  Speaking of orphans, Tobias illustrates the poor orphan with hidden heritage.     

[powertrash]

I think it's odd that so many of them are only children--and that Jake and Rachel (cousins) are the only human characters with siblings. That's much different than the people I know; only children are kind of rare among my friends.

I read somewhere that if age differences are pronounced enough, the birth order pattern totally changes. Jake was in middle school when Tom was in high school--do we know how far apart they are? If Tom was significantly older than Jake, it makes sense that Jake would constantly want to emulate his brother without having been close enough in age to experience more defining sibling rivalry. If Tom was 5 or 6 when Jake was born, then Tom might have always been the "ideal" for Jake and defined his personality as responsible?

Ax's relationship with Elfangor makes a lot of sense, though there is a huge age gap there too.

I feel like Marco should have an older...sister.

[dolphin4077]

I think there was a 3 year age difference between Jake and Tom.