Types of Characters

These are the common types of characters we see in literature. Round characters Flat characters Dynamic characters Static characters Stereotype

Round characters have various characteristics or traits. A round character can change or grow. Readers see more than one side of a round character.

Readers see one side of a flat character. Flat characters are usually minor characters and reveal one or two traits. Flat characters may be used as a contrast to a major character.

Characters who develop and change are not only round characters, but often dynamic. Scrooge changes from a tight- fisted, greedy unhappy man to one who was generous and loved life. Gru changes from a villain set on destroying the world to a loving father.

Static characters are one dimensional—readers see only one side. Static characters stay the same and do not develop. Readers learn little about this character. Static characters are flat characters.

Sometimes characters with common, generalized traits are repeatedly found in unrelated stories. 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 some inferences. Detective

Foil A foil’s main purpose is to give emphasis to the characteristics of the main character, to contrast.

The Protagonist is central to the action of a story and moves against the antagonist.

The antagonist is the villain or a force which opposes the the protagonist.

Character Masks

Background In ancient times, all the actors were male, and they all played multiple roles, so a mask was used to show the change in character or mood. Masks challenged the actors to portray their characters' feelings in more subtle ways, with voice and body language, since they couldn't use facial expressions. The two masks are now used as the symbol for theater, in memory of its origins in ancient Greece. Masks played an important role in Greek drama. They gave the actors the ability to easily play more than one character in succession with a simple change of mask. They conveyed a kind of static emotion that must have created an atmosphere very different than our modern theater. The masks and dress were usually highly stylized and exaggerated making the characters easy to identify even from a great distance.

Directions You are going to create a mask to represent one of the characters from the book. Be creative! Take time to think about your character and your mask.

Requirements Mask must have: –Color –Texture –Be useable –Be original/ thoughtful –Pizazz

Accompanying Explanation In addition to your mask, you will turn in an accompanying explanation of how the mask represents the character. The explanation will be at least a page in length. –Double spaced –Size 12 –Font of your choice You must identify the character using the aforementioned classifications and explain/ back up your classification. All aspects of the mask should be explained in the essay. –Shape of mask chosen –Hand held vs. wearable –Colors –Textures –Size You must cite at least 5 examples from the story as “proof” to back up your analysis of the character.

How to cite You will be citing in MLA format. Use in-text citation as well as a citation page. The websites on the right are great references. format-4456.htmlhttp://classroom.synonym.com/cite-novel-mla- format-4456.html m/citation-guides/mla- format/how-to-cite-a- parenthetical-citations- mla/#.U2EJuoFdWSo m/citation-guides/mla- format/how-to-cite-a- parenthetical-citations- mla/#.U2EJuoFdWSo

How to cite- short Short quotations are set off by quotation marks and cited by using the author’s name (last or first and last) and the page number. There is no comma between the author’s last name and the page number (Examples 3 and 5). If you mention the author in the text itself, you do not need to mention it in the parenthetical citation (Example 4). If a subsequent reference is clearly to the same author, only the new page number is needed in the citation (Example 5). Example 3 At the end of the novel, Wolf and Bear, the two Chihuahuas, reappear sitting in “a square of sunlight granted by a clerestory window far above their imaginations” (Howie 437). Example 4 At the end of the novel, Wolf and Bear, the two Chihuahuas, reappear sitting in what Howie describes as “a square of sunlight granted by a clerestory window far above their imaginations” (437). Example 5 At the end of the novel, sitting “in a square of sunlight granted by a clerestory window far above their imaginations” (Howie 437), Wolf and Bear, the two Chihuahuas, reappear. They sleep contentedly “until their master opens the garage door and their eyes” (439).

How to cite- long A quotation that would require more than four lines of your text should be in the form of a block quotation with the following features. Begin on a new line. Indent one inch from the left margin. Do not use quotation marks. Include the page number(s) in parentheses after the period at the end of the quotation. Unlike in-text quotations, where the citation is part of the sentence, the citation of a block quotation floats outside. Thus, the period ending the last sentence of the block follows the last word, and the parenthetical reference stands on its own. Because it is set off on its own and is clearly a quotation, no quotation marks are needed. Often the introductory lead-in is a sentence followed by a colon. (Remember that a colon is a handy punctuation mark meaning, “Here is an explanation of what I just said.”) Example 6 In her study of our literary heritage, professor Jane Doe reminds us that in many cases, we came close to not having some works at all: Many are the tales of the discovery of unique manuscripts of what turned out to be precious works of literary greatness. Poetry used as stuffing for steamer trunks or sofas; novels hidden in the walls of a garret in some forgotten, soon-to-be-demolished building; classics, all but scraped off the parchment, accidentally discovered underneath the lesser words in a palimpsest—we do not know how lucky we are. ( )