第三讲Characterization
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- Commercial fiction may feature an elaborate plot but offer characters who are simple and even stereotypical.
- In commercial fiction, the characters must be easily identifiable and clearly labeled as good or bad. The commercial authors’ aim is to create characters who can carry the plot forward, not to explore human psychology and motivation.
2) Round Character and Flat Character
Two kinds of characters populate a story: major characters (protagonists) and minor characters (antagonists). Characters can also be analyzed by the extent to which they develop.
According to Ernest Hemingway, an individual’s courage is truly tested only in moments of extreme personal crisis.
Thus Hemingway often writes about characters on hunting expeditions, on the battle field, or in the bullfighting arena to show “grace under pressure”. Stress and conflict work to define our humanity in all its strengths and weaknesand Static Character
- Fictional characters may also be classified as either dynamic or static.
- In “The Egg”, as the plot develops, Father changes from “a cheerful, kindly man” into a desperate failure. This character is dynamic.
- Occasionally there may be more than one protagonist in a story.
- The technical term “protagonist” is preferable to the popular terms “hero” or “heroine”.
- Any force arranged against the protagonist --whether persons, things, conventions of society, or the protagonist’s own character traits --- is the antagonist.
- Placing characters in a situation of conflict or stress is the most effective way of characterization. The actions of your characters convey your theme.
Flat characters - are almost incapable of change, - embody or represent a single characteristic or
idea, - are one-dimensional characters, - play a minor role in the story. Most short stories will have room for only one or two round characters. Minor characters must necessarily remain flat.
e.g. In the model short story “Mosquito”, Andrew, the major character, is most fully developed. Brian, the visiting friend, is no more than a shadow. His presence serves simply as the impetus for Todd’s desire to flaunt his courage and power.
Flat Character
Characters depicted less completely are often referred to as flat characters. These characters, who are more peripheral to the story, could be called minor characters.
The British writer E. M. Forster coined the terms “round” and “flat” to distinguish the degrees of character development.
Round Character
- Sometimes major characters are called round characters because the readers see them dynamic and fully developed.
Round characters - are complex multi-dimensional characters, - have considerable intellectual and
emotional depth, - have the capacity to grow and change, - are most fully developed.
- The various conflicts illuminated in a story may be physical, mental, emotional, and moral. Excellent literary fiction has been written utilizing all four of these major kinds of conflict.
- A person may be in conflict with other individuals, with social norms or nature, and with himself or herself all at the same time, and sometimes may be involved in conflict without being aware of it.
- A character is said to be a round character when he or she changes with the plot and exhibits many characteristics, some of which may be contradictory.
Characters: The People in Fiction
1. Characters
- Characters are simply the imagined people who inhabit a story.
- The author’s task is to make these people vivid and interesting enough so that the reader cares about them and understands who they are and what they signify.
- The opponent of the protagonist---the character, against whom the protagonist struggles or contends, is the minor character or the antagonist .
- The antagonist can be somewhat more difficult to identify, especially if he is not a human being. The antagonist may not be a living creature at all, but rather the hostile social or natural environment with which the protagonist is forced to contend.
- Like the Father, the narrator “I” is also dynamic.
3. Plot & Characterization
Plot and characterization work together in any good story.
- In commercial fiction, plot is usually more important than in-depth characterization, while literary writers are usually more concerned with complex characters than with the mechanics of plot.
- Contrary to Father, the mother remains flat and static. She fulfills her supportive role in the story as a minor character.
The static character remains essentially the same person from the beginning of the story to the end.
- Many protagonists embody a complex mixture of both positive and negative qualities, very much in the way their real life counterparts do.
Antagonist
2. Three Types of Fictional Characters: How to Classify them?
1) Protagonist & Antagonist
Protagonist
- The major or central character in a conflict is called the protagonist.
- The terms “hero” or “heroine” imply that the central character has heroic qualities, which is often not the case because human nature is not often entirely bad or perfectly good.
- In commercial fiction, the characters must be easily identifiable and clearly labeled as good or bad. The commercial authors’ aim is to create characters who can carry the plot forward, not to explore human psychology and motivation.
2) Round Character and Flat Character
Two kinds of characters populate a story: major characters (protagonists) and minor characters (antagonists). Characters can also be analyzed by the extent to which they develop.
According to Ernest Hemingway, an individual’s courage is truly tested only in moments of extreme personal crisis.
Thus Hemingway often writes about characters on hunting expeditions, on the battle field, or in the bullfighting arena to show “grace under pressure”. Stress and conflict work to define our humanity in all its strengths and weaknesand Static Character
- Fictional characters may also be classified as either dynamic or static.
- In “The Egg”, as the plot develops, Father changes from “a cheerful, kindly man” into a desperate failure. This character is dynamic.
- Occasionally there may be more than one protagonist in a story.
- The technical term “protagonist” is preferable to the popular terms “hero” or “heroine”.
- Any force arranged against the protagonist --whether persons, things, conventions of society, or the protagonist’s own character traits --- is the antagonist.
- Placing characters in a situation of conflict or stress is the most effective way of characterization. The actions of your characters convey your theme.
Flat characters - are almost incapable of change, - embody or represent a single characteristic or
idea, - are one-dimensional characters, - play a minor role in the story. Most short stories will have room for only one or two round characters. Minor characters must necessarily remain flat.
e.g. In the model short story “Mosquito”, Andrew, the major character, is most fully developed. Brian, the visiting friend, is no more than a shadow. His presence serves simply as the impetus for Todd’s desire to flaunt his courage and power.
Flat Character
Characters depicted less completely are often referred to as flat characters. These characters, who are more peripheral to the story, could be called minor characters.
The British writer E. M. Forster coined the terms “round” and “flat” to distinguish the degrees of character development.
Round Character
- Sometimes major characters are called round characters because the readers see them dynamic and fully developed.
Round characters - are complex multi-dimensional characters, - have considerable intellectual and
emotional depth, - have the capacity to grow and change, - are most fully developed.
- The various conflicts illuminated in a story may be physical, mental, emotional, and moral. Excellent literary fiction has been written utilizing all four of these major kinds of conflict.
- A person may be in conflict with other individuals, with social norms or nature, and with himself or herself all at the same time, and sometimes may be involved in conflict without being aware of it.
- A character is said to be a round character when he or she changes with the plot and exhibits many characteristics, some of which may be contradictory.
Characters: The People in Fiction
1. Characters
- Characters are simply the imagined people who inhabit a story.
- The author’s task is to make these people vivid and interesting enough so that the reader cares about them and understands who they are and what they signify.
- The opponent of the protagonist---the character, against whom the protagonist struggles or contends, is the minor character or the antagonist .
- The antagonist can be somewhat more difficult to identify, especially if he is not a human being. The antagonist may not be a living creature at all, but rather the hostile social or natural environment with which the protagonist is forced to contend.
- Like the Father, the narrator “I” is also dynamic.
3. Plot & Characterization
Plot and characterization work together in any good story.
- In commercial fiction, plot is usually more important than in-depth characterization, while literary writers are usually more concerned with complex characters than with the mechanics of plot.
- Contrary to Father, the mother remains flat and static. She fulfills her supportive role in the story as a minor character.
The static character remains essentially the same person from the beginning of the story to the end.
- Many protagonists embody a complex mixture of both positive and negative qualities, very much in the way their real life counterparts do.
Antagonist
2. Three Types of Fictional Characters: How to Classify them?
1) Protagonist & Antagonist
Protagonist
- The major or central character in a conflict is called the protagonist.
- The terms “hero” or “heroine” imply that the central character has heroic qualities, which is often not the case because human nature is not often entirely bad or perfectly good.