Alienated Characters Authors often include alienated characters to serve as a motif to the readers. Alienated characters are characters that don?t exactly fit in with the rest. Alienation can come from a variety of things, such as, society, gender, race, social status, or even religious beliefs. Instances of alienation can be crucial to a novel because they can make the reader unsure about what to think and add a mysterious aspect to novels. Alienated characters make novels more genuine by adding a subject of conflict. They are essential to literary works and reveal other characters beliefs and values.