Characterization Characterization and and

Point of ViewPoint of View

Edited by Nina Lee Braden

CharacterizationCharacterization

Definition: the way characters are presented

Details that reveal characters’ personalities

““A writer can give an illusion of depth by giving an apparent

stereoscopic view of a character – seeing him from two vantage

points; all a writer can do is give more or less information about a character, not information of a

different order.”

– Evelyn Waugh

CharacterizationCharacterization

Direct (or explicit) characterization reveals personality through: The author’s words

“He was the kind of man who …” “She was a … woman.”

DirectDirect characterization characterization reveals personality reveals personality

through: through: Another character’s words

“Jim was always my favorite brother because …”

“Typically, she gave me the larger slice of cake.”

The character himself or herself “Revenge burned in my heart.” “I loved this time of evening best.”

CharacterizationCharacterization Indirect (or implicit) characterization reveals

personality through: Actions Speech (what is said and how it is said) Thoughts

How the character accepts events, news What the character thinks of others What the character thinks about The characters’ opinions, beliefs, etc.

CharacterizationCharacterization Example from What Looks Like Crazy on an

Ordinary Day by Pearl Cleage “When she asked me what I thought, I knew

it was a trick. Grown people never ask you what they should do until they have already decided for themselves. They don’t tell you that of course, but they stand there and wait for you to either confirm their good judgment or reveal yourself as not as smart as they thought you were by advising them in the other direction.”

The previous quote The previous quote reveals the narrator:reveals the narrator:

Makes up her own mind Is able to understand other people Has experience dealing with people Knows what people say and what they

think may be different and won’t fall into that trap

Is possibly cynical; probably has had previous experience with people telling her what to do

Clues in the Clues in the SelectionSelection

He is the kind of man who uses words like “discombobulated” in everyday conversation, in the mistaken belief that it makes him sound smart.

She is the kind of woman who smiles politely when people cross her, safe in the knowledge that God will eventually hold them responsible for stealing her parking spot at the mall.

Clues in the Clues in the SelectionSelection

He is the kind of man who likes to take things apart to see how they work, but often has trouble putting them back together again.

She is the kind of woman who cooks the same meal for each day of the week, just as she has for the past twenty-four years, because her husband likes having a baked dinner on Sundays.

CharacterizationCharacterization

The previous quotes reveal much of these characters’ personalities.

Characterization is rarely this obvious. The trick for writers is to choose specific

revealing traits that signify a greater range of personality traits.

Writers should show, not tell, their readers the character’s traits.

Reviewer Roger Ebert Reviewer Roger Ebert describes the main describes the main

character of character of Hotel RwandaHotel Rwanda ……

“This is not the kind of man the camera silhouettes against mountaintops, but the kind of man who knows how things work in the real world, who uses his skills of bribery, flattery, apology and deception to save these lives who have come into his care.”

The Previous Quote. . The Previous Quote. . ..

Effectively uses contrast (antithesis), saying first who he IS NOT, then who he IS. Better yet, the quote continues by giving examples …

“Paul … understands that when a general's briefcase is taken for safekeeping, it contains bottles of good scotch when it is returned. He understands that to get the imported beer he needs, a bribe must take place. He understands that his guests are accustomed to luxury, which must be supplied even here in a tiny central African nation wedged against Tanzania, Uganda and the Congo … The result of all the things he knows is that the hotel runs well and everyone is happy. “

Types of Characters, ITypes of Characters, I Flat Characters

Single or extremely limited characterization

The test: flat characters can be summed up in one sentence

Round Characters Multi-faceted characterization

Static Characters Stay the same throughout the work

Types of Characters, IITypes of Characters, II

Dynamic Characters Change over the course of the work

Stock character Easily recognizable stereotype Often, but not necessarily a flat character

Troubled Teen Criminal with a heart of gold Underdog Ruthless Businessman Brave Captain

And then there’s …And then there’s …

The Sea in Moby-Dick The Jungle in Heart of Darkness The weather in Tess of the D’Urbervilles The Mississippi River in Huck Finn London and Paris in A Tale of Two Cities

Some non-human elements take on personalities, emotions, and roles within a work, and may be considered characters

Point of ViewPoint of View

Point of View = perspective The viewpoint from which the story is told The vantage point from which an author

presents a story The POV determines how the reader

experiences the story A consistent point of view should be

maintained throughout the work

11st st Person POVPerson POV

Narrator tells the story Pronouns include I, me, my, us,

etc. when referring to the narrator Narrator is omniscient about him

or herself, but not about other characters

First PersonFirst Person

“First-person narration provides the reader with a very direct, firsthand experience of the fictional world. The reader feels himself in the company of one of the characters, encountering the other characters and experiencing the events of the story alongside the character-narrator.” (http://www.bewilderingstories.com/issue212/narration1.html)

11stst Person Narrative Person Narrative example from Charles example from Charles

Dickens’ Dickens’ David CopperfieldDavid Copperfield::

Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show.

POV and BiasPOV and Bias

Just like you are the hero of your own narrative, the 1st person narrator may be biased about the story he/she is telling, so determine the level of emotional objectivity.

The novel As I Lay Dying is an example of different meanings derived by multiple narrators.

22ndnd Person Point of Person Point of ViewView

Rare, usually frowned upon; awkward Narrator is a character Narrator does not use personal pronouns

(such as I or me) even when referring to self Ex: I narrate a story about teaching and

refer to myself as “Ms. Braden” or “she” Narrator addresses reader directly, using

“you” Narrator is omniscient about him or herself,

but not about other characters

22ndnd Person Narrative Person Narrative example from Nathaniel example from Nathaniel Hawthorne’s story “The Hawthorne’s story “The Haunted Mind,” which Haunted Mind,” which

begins:begins:What a singular moment is the first one, when you have hardly begun to recollect yourself, after starting from midnight slumber! By unclosing your eyes so suddenly you seem to have surprised the personages of your dream in full convocation round your bed, and catch one broad glance at them before they can flit into obscurity...”

33rdrd Person POV (or 3 Person POV (or 3rdrd Person Person ObjectiveObjective))

Narrator is not a character in the story Pronouns do not include I, me, us, etc.

unless a character is being quoted Narrator sees and hears all, but does not

know the thoughts and feelings of any character Because this viewpoint is un-engaging

for the reader, most narration is not strict 3rd person POV

33rdrd Person Person LimitedLimited OmniscientOmniscient

Narrator is not a character in the story Pronouns do not include I, me, us, etc.

unless a character is being quoted Narrator sees and hears all, and knows the

thoughts and motivations of one character One of the more popular points of view in

American literature

33rdrd Person Person OmniscientOmniscient POVPOV

Narrator is not a character in the story Pronouns do not include I, me, us, etc. unless a

character is being quoted Narrator sees and hears all, as well as knowing the

thoughts and feelings of all characters Not all motivations and reactions may be

revealed in one scene to heighten the readers’ interest

Sometimes called a “God’s eye view” because the narrator sees and knows everything and can be everywhere at all times in the story

33rdrd Person Omniscient from Person Omniscient from Flaubert’s Flaubert’s Madame BovaryMadame Bovary

where we see the inner turmoil where we see the inner turmoil of two characters equally:of two characters equally:

Each time, Léon had to tell her everything he had done since their last rendezvous. She asked for a poem, [...] a love piece written in her honor: he could never find a rhyme for the second line and ended up copying a sonnet from a keepsake.

He did that less out of vanity than out of a desire to please her. He never disputed any of her ideas; he fell in with all her tastes; he was becoming her mistress far more than she was his. Her sweet words and her kisses swept away his soul. Her depravity was so deep and so dissembled as to be almost intangible: where could she have learned it?