Writing about a character Characterization Writing about a character

Definition Characters are the people in narratives, and characterization is the author’s presentation and development of the traits of characters. Sometimes, as in fantasy fiction, the characters are not people. They may be animals, robots, or creatures from outer space, but the author endows them with human abilities and human psychological traits. They really are people in all but outward form.

Plot vs. Character Reading for character is more difficult than reading for plot, for character is much more complex, variable, and ambiguous. Anyone can repeat what a person has done in a story, but considerable skill may be needed to describe what a person is. Fiction offers an unparalleled opportunity to observe human nature in all its complexity and multiplicity. It enables us to know people, to understand them, and to learn compassion for them. In some respects we can know fictional characters even better than we know real people. We can observe them in significant situations that serve to bring forth their character, and if the author allows us, we can tell exactly what is going on in their mind and how they feel. By knowing fictional characters we can also understand people in real life better than we otherwise could.

direct and indirect relevation In the direct method the author tells the readers straight out by exposition or analysis what the characters are like, or have someone else in the story tell us what they are like. This method, though clear and economical is scarcely ever used alone. The direct method without supported by indirect gives us characters without an explanation or characters that are emotionally unconvincing. In the indirect method authors show us, rather than tell us what characters are like through dialogue, external details (dress, bearing, looks), and characters’ thoughts, speech, and deeds.

Flat and round Characters Flat (simple) characters have only one or two personality traits and are easily recognized as stereotypes – the shrewish wife, the lazy husband, the egomaniac, the stupid athlete, the shyster, the miser, the redneck, the bum, the dishonest used-car salesman, the prim aristocrat, the absent-minded professor. Round (complex) characters have multiple personality traits and therefore resemble real people. Round characters have many more traits than those associated with the general type. It takes time to develop round characters convincingly so they are more often found in longer works than in shorter ones.

Static and dynamic characters Static characters remain the same throughout the entire work. A dynamic character undergoes a permanent change in some aspect of character, personality, or outlook. Dynamic characters, especially main characters, typically grow in understanding.

Character analysis Assignment Pick one passage in your book that you feel gives a good description of what a significant character is like. Include the passage (so I can read it), and then write an essay in which you discuss the methods of characterization that the author employs – direct, indirect. Think of this like a style analysis, except instead of creating tone, the author is creating a character. Talk about the type of character you are analyzing and how you came to your conclusion – dialogue, action, diction, imagery or other stylistic and literary elements.

Thinking on paper about characterization List the traits of the character in the story. Describe the ways the author reveals these traits of the character. Write a description of the complex character. Explain what makes the character “complex.” Describe the emotional reaction a character has to an important event or events. Write about how and why a character changes. Describe the scene in which the character has an epiphany. Explain what happens and what the character comes to see. Find places the author makes revealing statements about your character. Show how the author represents character’s thoughts. Describe the inner life of your character.

Works Cited Arp, Thomas. Perrine’s Literature Structure, Sound, and Sense. Orlando: Harcourt Brace College Publishers, 1998. Print. Griffith, Kelley. Writing Essays about Literature. Boston: Thomson Higher Education, 2006. Print.