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(Adapted  from  Perrine’s  Literature:  Structure,  Sound,  and  Sense)  

 

Section  3:  Characterization  

Last  time,  we  considered  plot  apart  from  characterization,  as  if  the  two  were  really   separable,  but  in  any  good  story  the  two  work  very  much  together.      

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.      

-­‐Many  literary  fiction  writers,  in  fact,  consider  characterization  to  be  the  most   important  element  of  their  art.  

Why  might  analyzing  characterization  be  more  difficult  than  describing  plot?   -­‐Human  character  is  infinitely  complex,  variable,  and  ambiguous.  

-­‐Anyone  can  summarize  what  a  person  in  a  story  has  done,  but  a  writer  needs   considerable  skill  and  insight  into  human  beings  to  describe  convincingly  who   a  person  is.      

-­‐Even  the  most  complicated  plot  device  in  a  detective  story  puts  far  less  strain   on  our  understanding  than  does  human  nature.      

This  is  why  commercial  fiction  may  feature  an  elaborate  plot  but  offer  characters   who  are  simple,  two-­‐dimensional,  even  stereotypical.    

Characters  must  be  easily  identifiable  in  such  fiction  and  clearly  labeled  as   good  or  bad;  the  commercial  author’s  aim  is  to  create  characters  who  can   carry  the  plot  forward,  not  to  explore  human  psychology  and  motivation.       The  main  character  in  a  commercial  work  must  also  be  someone  attractive  or   sympathetic.  

If  the  protagonist  is  male,  he  need  not  be  perfect,  but  usually  must  be   fundamentally  decent  –  honest,  good-­‐hearted,  and  preferably  good-­‐ looking.  

He  may  also  have  larger-­‐than-­‐life  qualities,  showing  himself  to  be   daring,  dashing,  or  gallant.  

He  may  defy  laws  made  for  “ordinary”  people,  but  this  makes  him  even   more  likable  because  he  breaks  the  rules  for  a  good  reason:  to  catch  a   criminal,  or  to  prevent  a  disaster  (see  any  story/film,  etc.  that  features   an  antihero)    

In  commercial  fiction,  the  reader  enjoys  identifying  with  such  a   protagonist,  vicariously  sharing  his  adventures,  escapes,  and  triumphs  

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If  the  protagonist  has  vices,  they  must  be  the  kind  a  typical  reader   would  not  mind  or  would  enjoy  having  (e.g.  sexual  promiscuity,  i.e.   James  Bond)  thus  allowing  readers  to  indulge  imaginatively  in   pleasures  they  might  not  allow  themselves  in  real  life.    

 

Literary  fiction  does  not  necessarily  renounce  the  attractive  character.  .  .   -­‐Jane  Eyre  

-­‐Huckleberry  Finn   -­‐Holden  Caulfield  

.  .  .are  literary  characters  loved  by  millions  of  readers.  

Edie  in  “How  I  Met  My  Husband”  is  a  likeable  character  as  well.    

BUT  literary  protagonists  are  less  easily  labeled  than  their  commercial  fiction   counterparts.    Sometimes  they  may  be  wholly  unsympathetic,  even  despicable.      

But  because  human  nature  is  not  often  entirely  bad  or  perfectly  good,   literary  fiction  deals  usually  with  characters  who  are  composted  of  both   good  and  evil  impulses  –    

-­‐three-­‐dimensional  human  beings  who  live  in  our  memory  as  “real”   people  long  after  we  have  stopped  reading.      

 

Why  read  fictional  stories  about  such  real  characters?  

-­‐It  offers  us  an  exciting  opportunity  to  observe  human  nature  in  all  its  complexity   and  multiplicity.    

-­‐It  enables  us  to  know  people,  to  understand  them,  and  to  develop  compassion  for   them  in  a  way  we  might  not  do  without  reading  serious  fiction.  

-­‐In  some  ways,  we  can  know  fictional  characters  even  better  than  we  know  real   people  in  our  lives.  

How?  

1. We  observe  fictional  people  in  situations  that  are  always  significant  and   serve  to  illuminate  their  characters  in  a  way  that  our  daily,  routine  

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-­‐Authors  can  show  us,  if  they  wish,  exactly  what  is  happening  in  a  

character’s  mind  and  emotions.    In  real  life  we  can  only  guess  at  another’s   thoughts  and  feelings  from  their  external  behavior  (which  may  be  designed   to  conceal  the  person’s  inner  life/self).  

-­‐Because  of  the  opportunity  literary  fiction  affords  is  of  knowing  its   characters  so  thoroughly,  it  also  enables  us  to  understand  the  motives  and   behavior  of  people  in  real  life.    

 

Direct  vs.  Indirect  Presentation    

 

Direct  Presentation  (of  character)  

-­‐Method  of  characterization  in  which  the  author,  by  exposition  or  analysis,   tells  us  directly  what  a  character  is  like,  or  has  someone  else  in  the  story  do   so  

-­‐Graham  Greene  uses  direct  presentation  when  he  tells  us  about   Blackie:  

“He  was  just,  he  had  no  jealousy.”   Indirect  Presentation  (of  character)  

-­‐Method  of  characterization  in  which  an  author  shows  us  a  character  in   action,  compelling  us  to  infer  what  the  character  is  like  from  what  is  said  or   done  by  the  character  

-­‐Greene  uses  indirect  presentation  when  he  shows  Blackie  allowing   the  gang  to  vote  on  Trevor’s  project,  accepting  the  end  of  his  

leadership  fairly  calmly,  taking  orders  from  Trevor  without  

resentment,  burning  banknotes  with  Trevor,  and  racing  him  home.       Also,  the  word  “just”  has  a  slight  ironic  twist  –  it  applies  only   to  behavior  within  the  gang  –  and  Greene  presents  this   indirectly.      

-­‐Alice  Munro  relies  on  indirect  presentation  to  show  that  Chris   Watters  is  a  charming  but  irresponsible  barnstormer;  Edie  never   criticizes  him,  but  we  feel  her  disillusionment  as  she  waits  day  after   day  for  a  letter  that  will  never  come.  

     

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Generally,  good  writers  use  direct  presentation  sparingly,  though  it  does  have  the   advantages  of  being  clear  and  economical.  

In  order  to  involve  the  reader,  however,  the  author  must  show  the   character  in  action  (“show,  don’t  tell”)  

If  characters  are  merely  described,  then  the  story  will  read  more  like  an   essay.    The  direct  method  usually  has  little  emotional  impact  unless  it  is   bolstered  by  the  indirect.  

Using  only  direct  presentation  will  give  us  only  the  explanation  of  a   character,  not  the  impression  of  a  living,  breathing  human  being.       Therefore,  in  almost  all  good  fiction,  the  characters  are  dramatized.  

 

Dramatization  –    

-­‐The  presentation  of  character  or  of  emotion  through  the  speech  or  action   of  characters  rather  than  through  exposition,  analysis,  or  description  by   the  author  

If  we  are  to  really  believe  in  the  selfishness  of  a  character,  we  must  see  the   character  acting  selfishly.  

-­‐Instead  of  telling  us  that  Frank  in  “Hunters  in  the  Snow”  is  a  selfish,   self-­‐deluding  man,  Wolff  gives  us  dramatic  scenes  in  which  Frank   exhibits  his  selfishness  and  self-­‐delusions  through  his  dialogue  and   actions.  

Most  literary  writers  rely  on  indirect  presentation  and  may  even  use  it   exclusively.    

Good  fiction  follows  three  other  principles  of  characterization  as  well:   1. Characters  are  consistent  in  their  behavior:  

They  do  not  behave  one  way  on  one  occasion  and  a  different  way  on  another   unless  there  is  a  clear  and  sufficient  reason  for  the  change.  

 

2. The  characters’  words  and  actions  spring  from  motivations  the  reader  can   understand  and  believe:      

If  we  can’t  understand  why  they  behave  in  a  certain  way  immediately,  that   understanding  comes  by  the  end  of  the  story.  

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In  short,  the  author  must  convince  the  reader  that  the  character  might  well   have  existed  so  that,  at  least  while  we’re  reading,  we  have  the  illusion  that   the  person  is  real  and  forget  we  are  reading  fiction  at  all.  

 

Flat  vs.  Round  Characters    

Flat  characters  

-­‐Those  characters  who  usually  have  only  one  or  two  predominant  traits;  they   can  be  summed  up  in  a  sentence  or  two  

Ex.  –  Ivan  from  “The  Most  Dangerous  Game”    

-­‐He  is  a  fearsome  thug,  and  that  is  all  we  need  to  know  about  him.   Round  characters  

-­‐Those  characters  who  are  complex  and  many-­‐sided;  they  have  the  three-­‐ dimensional  quality  of  real  people.      

-­‐Huck-­‐Finn,  for  example,  because  Mark  Twain  imagined  and  dramatized   him  so  successfully  as  an  individual,  lives  vigorously  in  the  imaginations   of  millions  of  readers.  

-­‐Catch-­‐22’s  Capt.  John  Yossarian  is  an  example  of  a  round  character  we   will  be  getting  to  know  soon.    

*This  is  not  to  say,  however,  that  flat  characters  cannot  be  memorable.    Though   essentially  two-­‐dimensional,  they  can  be  made  memorable  in  the  hands  of  an  expert   author  who  creates  some  vivid  detail  of  their  appearance,  gestures,  or  speech.  

Ex.  –  Ebenezer  Scrooge  from  A  Christmas  Carol  

Though  he  could  easily  be  defined  as  a  stereotype  of  the  miserly  

misanthrope,  his  “Bah!  Humbug!”  has  made  him  an  immortal  character.     Whether  round  or  flat,  all  characters  in  good  fiction  are  dramatized  to  whatever   extent  needed  to  make  them  convincing  and  to  fulfill  their  roles  in  the  story.       Most  short  stories  will  have  room  for  only  one  or  two  round  characters.    Minor   characters  must  necessarily  remain  flat.      

There  are,  however,  some  literary  stories  where  the  exploration  of  individual   character  is  not  the  main  focus  of  interest  –  Shirley  Jackson’s  “The  Lottery”  is  an   example  –  and  in  such  stories,  none  of  the  characters  may  be  developed  fully.      

 

 

 

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Basic  Character  Types  

 

A  special  kind  of  flat  character  is  the  stock  character.  

-­‐A  stereotyped  character:  one  whose  nature  is  familiar  to  us  from  prototypes  in   previous  literature.  

-­‐These  characters  have  recurred  so  often  in  fiction  that  we  recognize  them  at   once:  the  strong,  silent  sheriff,  the  brilliant  detective  with  eccentric  habits,   the  mad  scientist,  the  international  man  of  mystery,  the  comic  Englishman   with  a  monocle,  the  cruel  stepmother,  etc.  

-­‐Commercial  authors  often  rely  on  such  stock  characters  precisely  because  they   can  be  grasped  quickly  and  easily  by  the  reader.    Such  characters  are  like  

interchangeable  parts  that  might  be  transferred  from  one  story  to  another.   -­‐When  literary  writers  employ  a  conventional  type,  however,  they  usually  add   individualizing  touches  to  help  create  a  fresh  and  memorable  character  

Ex.  -­‐    Sherlock  Holmes  (Sir  Arthur  Conan  Doyle)  follows  a  stock  pattern  of   the  detective,  but  he  remains  more  memorable  than  many  who  have  come   before  and  since.  

Ex.  -­‐    Wolff’s  character  Tub  in  “Hunters  in  the  Snow”  embodies  the  

stereotypes  of  the  overweight,  comic  buffoon;  but  certain  details  about  him  –   his  insecurity,  his  habit  of  hiding  the  food  he  eats  so  compulsively  –  help  to   make  him  distinctive.  

Foil  Character  

A  minor  character  whose  situation  or  actions  parallel  those  of  a  major   character,  and  thus  by  contrast  sets  off  or  illuminates  the  major  character;   most  often  the  contrast  is  complimentary  to  the  major  character.    

 

Fictional  characters  may  also  be  classified  as  either  static  or  dynamic    

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Dynamic  (or  developing)  Character  

A  character  who  during  the  course  of  a  work  undergoes  a  permanent  change   in  some  distinguishing  moral  qualities  or  personal  traits  or  outlook  

The  change  may  be  a  small  one;  it  may  be  positive  or  negative;  but  it  is   something  significant  and  basic,  not  some  minor  change  of  habit  or  opinion   The  English  writer  James  Joyce  used  a  term  that  has  become  widely  adopted  today,   noting  that  a  character  in  a  story  often  experiences  an  epiphany:  

-­‐A  moment  of  spiritual  insight  into  life  or  into  the  character’s  own  

circumstances,  the  epiphany  or  insight  usually  defines  the  moment  of  the   developing  character’s  change.  

Edie  in  Munro’s  How  I  Met  My  Husband”  is  a  dynamic  character,  for  she   learns  a  painful  lesson  about  romance  and  growing  up  that  alters  the   entire  course  of  her  life.      

Many  stories  show  a  change  in  the  protagonist  as  the  result  of  some  crucial  situation   in  his  or  her  life.    This  change  is  usually  at  the  heart  of  the  story,  and  defining  and   explaining  the  change  will  be  the  best  way  to  arrive  at  its  meaning.    

In  commercial  fiction  changes  in  a  character  are  likely  to  be  relatively  superficial.,   intended  mainly  to  effect  a  happy  ending.  

Readers  of  literary  fiction,  however,  usually  expect  that  a  convincing  change  in  a   character  meet  three  conditions:  

1. It  must  be  consistent  with  the  individual’s  characterization  as  dramatized  in   the  story.      

2. It  must  be  sufficiently  motivated  by  the  circumstances  in  which  the  character   is  placed.  

3. The  story  must  offer  sufficient  time  for  the  change  to  take  place  and  still  be   believable.  

Essential  changes  in  human  character,  after  all,  do  not  usually  occur  suddenly.    For   this  reason,  good  fiction  will  not  give  us  a  confirmed  criminal  who  miraculously   reforms  at  the  end  of  a  story,  or  a  lifelong  racist  who  wakes  up  one  day  and  decides   to  be  tolerant  and  open-­‐minded.  

If  fiction  is  to  be  convincing,  it  must  show  us  believable,  dynamic,  but  often  quiet   changes  or  turning  points  in  a  character’s  life.      

Ultimately,  it  is  the  quality  of  characterization  by  which  a  literary  story  stands  or   falls.    Long  after  we  have  read  even  the  greatest  novels  and  short  stories,  we  tend  to   remember  not  the  incidents  of  plot,  but  the  unforgettable  characters  who  made  our   reading  such  a  rich,  vibrant  experience.    Through  the  creation  of  character,  an   author  can  summon  up  a  new  personality,  a  new  voice,  and  an  entirely  new  and   original  way  of  seeing  the  world.    Such  characters  come  alive  each  time  a  reader   takes  up  the  story,  renewing  the  miracle  of  the  human  imagination.    

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Works  Cited  

Arp,  Thomas  R.,  and  Greg  Johnson.  Perrine’s  Literature:  Structure,  Sound  &  Sense.  11th  

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