Characters

  Short Stories Characters - Static vs Dynamic Personality Words[|Personality Word Flash Cards]

Story Elements Methods of Character Portrayal Characterization video on **Characters - Static vs Dynamic and Round vs Flat**

**~ ~ ~**Characters~ ~ ~ 1) The person in a work of fiction.media type="file" key="character-role.mp4" width="300" height="300" 2) The characteristics of a person. Short stories use few characters. One character is clearly central to the story with all major events having some importance to this character - he/she is the PROTAGONIST. The opposer of the main character is called the ANTAGONIST. They are the hero/heroine and the villian; or inthe simpliest terms the "good guy" and the "bad guy".
 * There are two meanings for the word character:**
 * Antagonist and Protagonist**

**Characteristics of a Person - **Character Characteristics  For a story to seem real to the reader, the characters must seem real. Characterization is the information the author gives the reader about the characters themselves. Characters are convincing if they are: consistent, motivated, and life-like (resemble real people) The author may reveal a character in several ways:
 * a) his/her physical appearance
 * b) what he/she says, thinks, feels and dreams
 * c) what he/she does or does not do
 * d) what others say about him/her and how others react to him/her

**Characters are... ** 1. Individual - round, many sided and complex personalities. 2. Developing - dynamic, many sided personalities that change, for better or worse, by the end of the story. 3. Static - Stereotype, have one or two characteristics that never change and are emphasized e.g. brilliant detective, drunk, scrooge, cruel stepmother, etc.

Life-likeness
 * Fictional characters do not have to be just like real human beings. There is a difference; however, they should be believable.
 * Characters are not free to act as they please; the author creates an illusion of freedom but haves them act to further the story.
 * "Life-likeness" must sometimes be sacrificed for the plot, theme, or unity of the work as a whole

Relevance
 * Is the character someone you can understand and relate to on some level
 * Characters can represent some universal quality (archetypal), or be eccentric individuals.
 * Characters may resemble ourselves and people we know or may represent a universal quality that exists in all of us.

Judging characters Simple characters-Flat or Static
 * How is this character relevant to the reader?
 * How does he/she contribute to the story as a whole?
 * May be stereotypes, or embodiments of a single characteristic; usually play major roles only in bad fiction. Are sometimes call flat characters or stock characters.
 * May be one-sided characters who do not represent universal types; predictable characters.
 * Simple characters are often used to fulfill minor roles in the story.
 * They stay the same throughout the story.

Complex characters-Round or Dynamic
 * These are more difficult to achieve.
 * More life-like than simple characters.
 * Capable of surprising us.
 * Gradations of complexity may exist
 * Character should be unified; i.e., should not act "out of character": consistency and believability are important
 * Character changes as the story unfolds.

adapted from http://www.ci.maryville.tn.us/mhs/studyskills/compguide/LitAnaChar.htm