Transcript Chomping at the bit for Character and Character Interaction An exhaustively researched report by Ms.

Chomping at the bit for Character
and Character Interaction
An exhaustively
researched report by
Ms. May
Review…
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The thing that sets the
main character’s story in
motion is the conflict.
The main character is
called the protagonist
while the character or
force that the protagonist
fights against is called
the antagonist.
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The two broad types of
conflict are external
and internal conflict.
There is only one main
conflict, but writers
often include
complications which
adds depth to the plot.
The question is…
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“How does a writer build a character out of
words—someone who will seem to become
flesh and blood and rise off the page?”
(Leggett).
Your thoughts?
What Makes a Character?
PHYSICAL
DESCRIPTION
OF CHARACTER
ACTIONS &
MANERISMS OF
CHARACTER
SPEECH &
DIALECT OF
CHARACTER
TONE OF
WRITER OR
SPEAKER
SETTING &
BELONGINGS
OTHERS
REACTIONS TO
CHARACTER
P
A
S
T
S
O
Direct vs. Indirect Characterization
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Direct Characterization: the author directly
tells the audience what the character is like.
Indirect Characterization: the writer shows us
a character but allows us to interpret for
ourselves the kind of person the character is.
–
Indirect characterization forces the reader to
make inferences about a character based on the
incomplete information the writer gives…
INDIRECT
CHARACTERIZATION
Inferences about Character…
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Use what you see or read…
(your observation)
With what you know…
(your background knowledge)
INFERENCE
OR
EDUCATED
GUESS
P—Physical Appearance
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How a character looks and dresses.
P
Judge a book by its cover?
A
We do this everyday without even meaning
to…We make assumptions about people S
depending on how they dress or look…
T
PHYSICAL
DESCRIPTION
OF CHARACTER
S
O
A—Actions
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One of the most important ways that we
learn about characters is from their
actions, from what we see them doing.
ACTIONS &
MANERISMS OF
CHARACTER
P
A
S
T
S
O
S—Speech
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“The most obvious method of
characterization is the character’s
speech” (Leggett).
Think of how you can recognize your
friends from what they say and how they
say it.
Speech includes both what
SPEECH &
DIALECT OF
a characters says and
CHARACTER
what they think.
P
A
S
T
S
O
Five Ways Writers Use Speech to Reveal
Character
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Dialect
Dialogue
Interior Monologue
Dramatic Monologue
Soliloquy
Dialect
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Dialect—is the speech of a particular region
or group as it differs from standard speech.
Another name for dialect is accent.
–
Dialect can tell us where a character is from.
Dialogue
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Dialogue is the conversation that occurs
between different characters.
Reading the characters’ dialogue in a story is
like listening in on a conversation.
–
We can learn about characters by what they say
to one another and how they say it.
Interior Monologue
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Interior Monologue occurs in the omniscient
point of view (first or third person).
An interior monologue is when the author
shows the inner thoughts of a character.
This monologue is not spoken out loud.
Oftentimes within the text, the thoughts of the
character are not in quotation marks and are
sometimes italicized.
Dramatic Monologue
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Dramatic monologues are a type of poem or speech
wherein the speaker addresses one or more silent
listeners, often discussing a problem or situation.
This is akin to speaking out loud to something or
someone who doesn’t answer…
What else besides a problem or situation can we
learn from a dramatic monologue?
–
Can also teach us about speaker’s values and relationship
with listener (s).
Soliloquy
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Soliloquies are self-revealing speeches
delivered by a character alone onstage,
addressing himself or herself (Leggett).
This is akin to speaking out loud to just
yourself…
T—Tone
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Just as the reader can tell a lot about a
character from observing the way that
others react to them, the reader can
also tell a lot from how the writer thinks
about them…
This can be analyzed
WRITER’S TONE
through tone which is the
OR ATTITUDE
TOWARDS
way an author or speaker
CHARACTER
feels towards what they are
writing about…
P
A
S
T
S
O
S—Setting & Belongings
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Setting is Where and When a character
comes from and it can tell a lot about him
or her…
We can also tell a lot about them from
their belongings because it tells the reader
what they value…
SETTING &
BELONGINGS
P
A
S
T
S
O
O—Other Characters
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We can learn about characters by
watching how other characters in the
story feel about them—how they react to
them, what they say about them, and
how they treat them.
OTHERS
REACTIONS TO
CHARACTER
P
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T
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O
Types of Characters
A character can either be a minor or a
major character
 The reason why we as readers try to
dissect and characterize individuals from
movies and books, is to figure out a
character’s motivation—the explanation for
why they do the things they do
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Major Characters
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Protagonist: the central character of a drama, novel,
short story, or narrative poem.
Antagonist: The character or force that blocks the
protagonist from solving the main conflict. The Antagonist
is the adversary of the protagonist.
Round Characters: A character who is characterized by
a complex three-dimensional combination of personality
traits
– We see good and bad parts…they seem real to the
reader
Minor Characters
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Flat Characters: A character who is
characterized by only one or two important
personality traits.
–
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Stock Character—a flat character in a standard role
with standard traits; e.g., the wicked stepmother.
Foil Character—a character, usually minor,
designed to highlight qualities of a major
character.
Static or Dynamic?
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Dynamic Characters a character who changes in
response to the experiences and trials he or she
faces within the story.
–
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Often Dynamic Characters experience an Epiphany
which is a sudden unfolding in which a character
proceeds from ignorance and innocence to knowledge
and experience.
Static Characters a character who does not
change or evolve throughout the text; they are the
same at the end of the story as the beginning.