Character

Our next literary element is character.

Character can be revealed by:

• the character's actions
• speech
• appearance
• comments of other characters and the author

Certain types of characters are:

• protagonist - central character
• antagonist - force in conflict with the protagonist
• character foil - character whose traits are in direct contrast to those of the main character
• stereotype - character that possesses expected traits of a group, rather than being an individual.

Character development is achieved by showing the multitude of traits and behaviors that give a character the complexity of a human.

• a flat character is NOT fully developed
• a round character is fully developed, with many traits --bad and good-- shown in the story

Characters can also experience change over the course of a story. The amount of change in a story also affects its quality.

• a static character is one that doesn't experience a basic change during a story (Tybalt from Romeo and Juliet)
• a dynamic character is one that experiences a basic change during a story (Romeo)