Character Types The following terms can be used to discuss characters in a poem, story, or drama.
Protagonist The Protagonist is the main character, the hero – ‘pro’ means for – ‘agonist’ means a competitor, as in a sport or contest – So the protagonist is who the audience roots for Examples: Ponyboy-The Outsiders Bella-Twilight Harry Potter Dorothy-”Wizard of Oz”
Antagonist The Antagonist is the opponent, the villain, or the source of conflict The antagonist could be the ‘bad guy’ or it could be anything that the hero must struggle against like bad weather such as deep snow, a bad social system like severe poverty, or a bad habit Examples: Jacob or Edward Lord Voldemort Wicked Witch of the West
Major Character A Major Character is a main character but not necessarily the main character (the hero). Major characters tends to be Round. Examples: Hermione-Harry Potter Tin Man, Scarecrow, Cowardly Lion-”Wizard of Oz” Darrel, SodaPop, Dallas-The Outsiders
Round Character A Round Character is well developed or complex and has motivations that can be empathized with (empathy is understanding or being sensitive to the feelings or experiences of another)
Minor Character A Minor Character is a supporting, less important character Minor Characters tend to be Flat Examples: Auntie Em-”The Wizard of Oz” Luchesi-The Cask of Amontillado
Flat Characters A Flat Character is a stereotyped or stock character has one trait or very few traits, he is what he does, he is usually static, meaning unchanging (a static character does not learn orchange over the course of the story)
Foil Character A Foil Character is a character that can be used as a contrast to the main character Hans Solo-”Star Wars Robin-Batman and Robin
A Dynamic Character A Dynamic Character is a character that changes or experiences a “character arc”: This is an experience in the story that gives the character insight and causes him to change (or grow) by the end of the story. Ebeneezer Scrooge-A Christmas Carol
Flaw A Flaw is a trait; it may be a weakness or a defect that causes failure To analyze character (and therefore to get deeper insight into the theme) look for character flaws