Characterization and Common Types of Characters in Literature

Protagonist Is central to the action of a story and moves against the opposing force Example Alice from Alice in Wonderland Tarzan from Tarzan Cinderalla from Cinderella

Antagonist Is the villain or a force which opposes the central character Example: Captain Hook from Peter Pan The Big Bad Wolf from The Three Little Pigs

Subordinate Characters characters who do not play major roles in a story Example: Extras in a movie The evil step-sisters from Cinderella

Characterization Characterization is the way writers develop characters in a story Two types – Direct Characterization Indirect Characterization

Direct Characterization when the writer directly tells the reader what a character is like Example Sherlock Holmes is clever and resourceful. Dracula is an evil vampire.

Indirect Characterization When the writer gives the reader clues about the character by describing how the character acts and thinks. The writer allows the reader to decide how to view the character.

Types of Characters Dynamic Static Round Flat Indirect and Direct Characterization will reveal the characters type Dynamic Static Round Flat

Round Characters well developed characters. The author tells the reader a lot about the character. Example: Harry in Harry Potter; Cinderella

Flat Characters not well developed characters. Readers know very little about them. Usually a minor character Examples Hagrid in Harry Potter Stepmother in Cinderella

Dynamic Character a character who changes during the course of story. Often the change involves learning a major lesson Example: Gru in Dispicable Me

Static Character A character who does not change during the story Harry in Harry Potter Crabbe and Goyle in Harry Potter

Stereotypes These characters are known by what they do and how they act. The author doesn’t need to tell us much about the character because we’ve encountered the stereotype before and can make inferences. Nerd = smart Cheerleader = preppy; mean