- 1. Protagonist Antagonist Characterization Round Flat Dynamic
Static
2. Protagonist 3. The protagonist is the main character in a
story, novel, drama, or other literary work. It is the character
that the reader or audience empathizes with. It is their problems
that move the plot and conflict forward. Although they often are
written as heroes, they do NOT have to be the good guy or girl. 4.
The antagonist opposes the protagonist. Yes, in the most
archetypical narratives this boils down to bad guy vs. good guy:
Luke Skywalker versus Darth Vadar in the first Star Wars movie, for
instance. But remember! The protagonist does NOT have to be a good
guy. If a story is written from a criminals point of view being
chased by police, then a cop would be the antagonist. 5. Remember
that antagonists dont have to be human either. They are the force
in conflict with the protagonist. 6. Characterizati on
Characterization is the process by which the writer reveals (shows)
the personality of a character. Characterization is revealed
through direct characterization and indirect characterization. 7.
Direct Characterization tells the audience what the personality of
the character is. Example: The patient boy and quiet girl were both
well mannered and did not disobey their mother. Explanation: The
author is directly telling the audience the personality of these
two children. The boy is patient and the girl is quiet. 8. Indirect
Characterization shows things that reveal the personality of a
character. There are five different methods of indirect
characterization: 9. Speech What does the character say? How does
the character speak? Thoughts What is revealed through the
characters private thoughts and feelings? Effects on others What is
revealed through the characters effect on other people? How do
other characters feel or behave in reaction to the character?
Actions What does the character do? How does the character behave?
Looks What does the character look like? How does the character
dress? 10. Dena was a kind, caring individual. Dena felt so sad
when she saw the hurt little chipmunk that she began to cry. She
immediately approached it to try and help it get better. 11. A
character who is very detailed and the reader is able to see and
visualize all sides of this character. Round characters are usually
protagonists and antagonists but exceptions do occur. We understand
the motivation of these characters (why they do things) and their
personal perspective. 12. In Finding Nemo, Marlin is a round
character. We understand the reasons behind his attitudes. We know
his past, his tragedies, his feelings. Frodo Baggins of The Lord of
the Rings by JRR Tolkien is also a round character. In the books
and movies all sides and personalities to Frodo is seen. 13. If you
can list a lot of things about who they are, their personality, and
their motivations, then most likely you have a round character. If
you hardly know anything about them, or only one or two things
stand out about them, then they are FLAT. 14. Flat character is a
character with a very simple personality; often called "one-" or
"two-dimensional" characters. They are not necessarily unimportant
though. (Think a flat piece of paper.) The writer does not provide
enough information for us to understand them; we only get to see
one side of the character's personality. Whitney, Ivan and General
Zaroff from The Most Dangerous Game are flat. We dont know that
much about them, and the things we do know are limited. 15. In
Finding Nemo, Bruce the shark is a flat character - he is not
around very long, and we don't really understand why he does what
he does. His motivations are very simple - when he gets hungry, he
tries to eat. 16. Consider a drawing: a three dimensional drawing
gives more detail than a one dimensional drawing. This would be a
round character. If you draw a flat picture of a house, for
example, you can only see one side of it. You cannot see three of
the four sides. This is how a flat character is; you can only see a
few characteristics of the character. There are many things you
cannot "see", or many details you are not given by the author. 17.
The key word when dealing with the difference between static and
dynamic characters is "change." The type of change, though, is
specific. We are only concerned with internal changes; changes
which occur within the character. These would include a major
change in their personality, or a change in their outlook on life.
Another important change that a character may undergo is a change
in values, or it could be an overall change in the nature of the
character. Do not focus on changes that happen TO a character, but
rather, changes that happen WITHIN a character. Think about it this
way: Does the event affect the character by changing the character
internally? 18. A dynamic character is one that under goes change
during the course of the plot. Change that applies to allow the
character to be dynamic are changes in insight or understanding,
changes in commitment, and changes in values. Changes in
circumstance do not apply unless the change has caused the
character to change within itself. Lets go back to Finding Nemo.
Marlin is a dynamic character. At the beginning of the story, he is
very over protective and barely lets Nemo do anything without him.
By the end of the story, he learns a valuable lesson about letting
go and trusting in his sons abilities. 19. Static Character: A
static character is one that no change is applied to during the
course of the story. Static characters are usually background or
secondary characters so that they can serve as thematic or plot
elements. However, sometimes static characters can be the main ones
such as Tom and Daisy from The Great Gatsby. They do not change
their qualities of carelessness but move away from their problems
as they did before.
