1. CHARACTER
Any personage in a literary work who acts, appears, or is referred to as playing a part; not all characters are humans but all characters must have human qualities (think, feel pain, fall in love)

2. Types of Characters Hero – good guy (heroine) Villain – Bad guy
Protagonist – leading character
Antagonist – protagonist’s opponent
Antihero – not a traditional hero, has traits opposite of traditional hero
Foil – a character (minor) that helps by way of contrast to reveal the unique qualities of another (especially main) character

3. Types of Characters Continued
Round characters – complex characters
Flat characters- predictable characters
Dynamic – a character that changes
Static – a character that doesn’t change
Archetypes – character that recur in myths and literature of many different ages and cultures

4. Important points
Fictional characters are not real people. Authors use characterization, or the art and technique of representing fictional personages. Author is deliberately manipulating reader through characters.
We learn not only about the values, beliefs, and ways of life of others through reading. We also learn a lot about our own values, prejudices, and beliefs.