Editing Jon Snow (character) (section)

===Description===
In ''A Game of Thrones'', Jon Snow is introduced as the 14-year-old illegitimate son of [[Ned Stark|Eddard "Ned" Stark]], Lord of [[Winterfell]],<ref name="SparkNotes Jon GoT">{{cite web |url=http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/a-game-of-thrones/canalysis.html#Jon-Snow |title=''A Game of Thrones'': Analysis of Jon Snow |publisher=[[SparkNotes]] |access-date=August 4, 2014 |archive-date=May 18, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518082720/http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/a-game-of-thrones/canalysis.html#Jon-Snow |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="SparkNotes Jon CoC">{{cite web |url=http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/a-clash-of-kings/canalysis.html#Jon-Snow |title=''A Clash of Kings'': Analysis of Jon Snow |publisher=SparkNotes |access-date=August 4, 2014 |archive-date=January 8, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170108211318/http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/a-clash-of-kings/canalysis.html#Jon-Snow |url-status=live }}</ref> and half-brother to [[Robb Stark|Robb]], [[Sansa Stark|Sansa]], [[Arya Stark|Arya]], [[Bran Stark|Bran]] and [[Rickon Stark|Rickon]]. Jon is described as having strong Stark features with a lean build, long face, dark brown hair, and dark grey eyes.<ref name="Goodreads Jon Snow">{{cite web |url=http://www.goodreads.com/characters/29544-jon-snow |title=Character profile for Jon Snow |publisher=[[Goodreads]] |access-date=August 3, 2014 |archive-date=December 9, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161209125346/http://www.goodreads.com/characters/29544-jon-snow |url-status=live }}</ref> Jon has the surname "Snow" (customarily used for illegitimate noble children in the North) and is resented by Ned's wife [[Catelyn Stark|Catelyn]], who views him as a constant reminder of Ned's infidelity.<ref name="SparkNotes Jon CoC"/> Jon is the same age as Robb and enjoys a warm relationship with his siblings, particularly the tomboy Arya (who resembles Jon and like him, does not feel like she fits in). Ned treats Jon as much like his other children as propriety and his honor will allow. Still, as somewhat of an outsider, Jon has learned to be independent and to fend for himself when necessary.<ref name="SparkNotes Jon GoT"/> Jon idolizes his father, but is wounded by Ned's refusal to tell him about his mother.{{sfn|Martin|1996}} At the beginning of the story, Jon adopts the [[albino]] [[direwolf (Game of Thrones)|direwolf]] that he names Ghost. He later finds that at times, he can "inhabit" the wolf and share its experiences.<ref name="SparkNotes Jon CoC"/><ref name="Goodreads Jon Snow"/>{{sfn|Martin|1996}}

[[David Orr (journalist)|David Orr]] of ''The New York Times'' describes Jon as "a complex, thoughtful and basically good character".<ref name="NYT 2011-08"/> [[David Benioff]] and [[D. B. Weiss]], the creators and executive producers of the [[Game of Thrones|television adaptation of the series]], explain that Jon is one of several characters in the series who must "face hard truths about the world they live in, and adapt themselves to those truths" because, "The struggle many of them face is how to do that without losing their grip on who they are."<ref name="EW 2014-06-15">{{cite magazine |url=http://insidetv.ew.com/2014/06/15/game-of-thrones-showrunners-on-season-4-finale-twists/ |title=''Game of Thrones'' showrunners on those season 4 finale twists |first=James |last=Hibberd |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |date=June 15, 2014 |access-date=July 12, 2014 |archive-date=December 28, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141228215153/http://insidetv.ew.com/2014/06/15/game-of-thrones-showrunners-on-season-4-finale-twists/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Ned Stark teaches all his children about leadership, selflessness, duty and honor. Following his father's example becomes more difficult as Jon faces challenges to his identity as a man, a Stark, and a brother of the [[Night's Watch]].<ref name="SparkNotes Jon GoT"/><ref name="SparkNotes Jon CoC"/> Benioff and Weiss note that "Jon Snow tries to live with honor, while knowing that honor often gets his family members murdered."<ref name="EW 2014-06-15"/> Writing for ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' about the season 6 episode "[[Battle of the Bastards]]", Laura Prudom suggests that Jon "has the same shortcomings" as his father: "he fights with honor against opponents who are all too willing to use that predictable morality against him".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://variety.com/2016/tv/news/game-of-thrones-recap-season-6-episode-9-battle-of-the-bastards-ramsay-bolton-dead-1201799000/ |title=''Game of Thrones'' Recap: Women Rule in 'Battle of the Bastards' |work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |first=Laura |last=Prudom |date=June 19, 2016 |access-date=August 8, 2016 |archive-date=November 28, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171128033727/http://variety.com/2016/tv/news/game-of-thrones-recap-season-6-episode-9-battle-of-the-bastards-ramsay-bolton-dead-1201799000/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Jon is a prominent [[Narrative mode#Third-person|point of view]] character in the novels, and has been called one of Martin's "finest creations".<ref name="NYT 2011-08"/> Jon is introduced as the illegitimate son of a Northern Lord who, realizing he is an outsider in his own family, follows his uncle to the far north and accepts the honorable duty of serving in the Night's Watch. But as much as he is a second-class Stark at home, initially his fellow recruits and brothers of the Watch set him apart as privileged and aloof. Jon adapts, soon proving himself to be wise, compassionate, and a natural leader. Over the course of the series, Jon's loyalty to the Watch and its vows, his family, and even Westeros itself are tested as he becomes embroiled in the efforts of the [[wildlings]] from [[Beyond the Wall (A Song of Ice and Fire)|Beyond the Wall]] to force their way back into the Seven Kingdoms. He lives among them as a spy for the Watch, sympathetic to their cause and becoming romantically involved with the tenacious [[Ygritte]].  However he ultimately betrays them to defend [[The Wall (A Song of Ice and Fire)|The Wall]]. Later, as the newest Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, he pursues an alliance with the wildlings.<ref name="SparkNotes Jon GoT"/><ref name="SparkNotes Jon CoC"/><ref name="Goodreads Jon Snow"/><ref name="SparkNotes Jon SoS">{{cite web |url=http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/a-storm-of-swords/canalysis.html#Jon-Snow |title=''A Storm of Swords'': Analysis of Jon Snow |publisher=SparkNotes |access-date=August 4, 2014 |archive-date=January 8, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170108175522/http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/a-storm-of-swords/canalysis.html#Jon-Snow |url-status=live }}</ref>

Several reviews of 2011's ''A Dance with Dragons'' noted the return to the narrative of Jon, [[Daenerys Targaryen]] and [[Tyrion Lannister]], the three popular characters whom fans had missed most from the previous volume, ''A Feast for Crows''.<ref name="NYT Dance 2011-07"/><ref name="Atlantic 2011">{{cite web |last=Brown |first=Rachael |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2011/07/george-r-r-martin-on-sex-fantasy-and-a-dance-with-dragons/241738/ |title=George R.R. Martin on Sex, Fantasy, and ''A Dance With Dragons'' |work=[[The Atlantic]] |date=July 11, 2011 |access-date=July 16, 2014 |archive-date=September 1, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130901210622/http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2011/07/george-r-r-martin-on-sex-fantasy-and-a-dance-with-dragons/241738/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=time_masterpiece_tolkien>{{cite magazine|last=Grossman |first=Lev |author-link=Lev Grossman |url=http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,2081774,00.html |title=George R.R. Martin's ''Dance with Dragons'': A Masterpiece Worthy of Tolkien |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=July 7, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130823230000/http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0%2C8599%2C2081774%2C00.html |archive-date=August 23, 2013 |url-status=dead |access-date=August 2, 2014 }}</ref> These "favorites" had last been featured 11 years before in Martin's ''A Storm of Swords''.<ref name=time_problem_power>{{cite magazine |last=Poniewozik |first=James |author-link=James Poniewozik |url=https://entertainment.time.com/2011/07/12/the-problems-of-power-george-r-r-martins-a-dance-with-dragons/ |title=The Problems of Power: George R.R. Martin's ''A Dance With Dragons'' |magazine=Time |date=July 12, 2011 |access-date=January 21, 2012 |archive-date=April 2, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120402032245/http://entertainment.time.com/2011/07/12/the-problems-of-power-george-r-r-martins-a-dance-with-dragons/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In ''A Dance with Dragons'', Jon's leadership of the Night's Watch is complicated by several unprecedented challenges, including a wildling alliance, the demands of would-be-king [[Stannis Baratheon]] and the conflicting factions developing within the Watch itself.<ref name=time_problem_power/><ref name="sfreviews DWD 2011">{{cite web |url=http://www.sfreviews.net/grrm_dance_with_dragons.html |title=Review: ''A Dance with Dragons'' (2011) |first=Thomas M. |last=Wagner |publisher=SFReviews.net |year=2011 |access-date=July 24, 2014 |archive-date=January 24, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170124231746/http://www.sfreviews.net/grrm_dance_with_dragons.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Booklist Dance">{{cite web|url=http://vufind.uhls.org/vufind/Record/979762/Reviews |title=Reviews: ''A Dance with Dragons'' |first=Krist |last=Hutley |work=[[Booklist]] |year=2011 |access-date=July 25, 2014 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20140727035042/http://vufind.uhls.org/vufind/Record/979762/Reviews |archive-date=July 27, 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref> ''The New York Times'' notes that "Jon’s leadership is the best hope of Westeros, so naturally he’s in imminent danger throughout ''A Dance With Dragons''."<ref name="NYT 2011-08"/> James Hibberd of ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'' called Jon's final chapter in ''A Dance with Dragons'' "a harsh chapter in terms of fan expectations. You go from this total high of Jon giving this rousing speech about going after the evil [[Ramsay Bolton]], to this utter low of his men turning against him."<ref name="EW 2011-07 Hibberd">{{cite magazine |url=http://shelf-life.ew.com/2011/07/21/dance-with-dragons-shocking-twist-g/ |title=George R.R. Martin on ''Dance With Dragons'' shocking twist |first=James |last=Hibberd |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |date=July 21, 2011 |access-date=July 16, 2014 |archive-date=January 18, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150118080914/http://shelf-life.ew.com/2011/07/21/dance-with-dragons-shocking-twist-g/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Jon's presence in the forthcoming volume ''[[The Winds of Winter]]'' is uncertain.<ref name="EW 2011-07 Hibberd"/>

When asked what he thought was "Jon's biggest 'mistake'",<!-- This doesn't seem to make sense. GRRM's reply begins "Were they mistakes?" What are "they"? In fact he doesn't answer the question at all. The source appears to have inadvertently misrepresented GRRM by not quoting the question he was actually asked. --> Martin replied:
{{Blockquote|Were they mistakes? I guess they were mistakes in some ways since they led to him losing control of part of his group. But it might have been wise and necessary decisions in terms of protecting the realm and dealing with the threat of the [[White Walker]]s. I'm a huge student of history, and all through history there’s always this question of what's the right decision. You look back with benefit of hindsight at a battle that was lost and say, 'The losing general was such an idiot.' Was [[Napoleon]] a genius for all the battles he won? Or an idiot for [[Battle of Waterloo|losing at Waterloo]]? Partly I'm reacting to a lot of the fantasy that has come before this. Ruling is difficult whether you're a Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch or the King of England. These are hard decisions and each have consequences. We're looking at Jon trying to take control of Night's Watch and deal with the wildlings and the threat beyond The Wall.<ref name="EW 2015-06">{{cite magazine |url=https://www.ew.com/article/2015/06/14/game-thrones-jon-snow-really-dead |title=''Game of Thrones'' author, producer on whether that character is really dead |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |last=Hibberd |first=James |date=June 14, 2015 |access-date=June 19, 2015 |archive-date=June 18, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150618182251/http://www.ew.com/article/2015/06/14/game-thrones-jon-snow-really-dead |url-status=live }}</ref>}}