![]() One of the essential purposes of a character analysis essay is to look at the anatomy of a character in the story and dissect who they are. More than fulfilling a requirement, this type of essay mainly helps the reader understand the character and their world. In our next article, we take a deeper dive into characterization and more examples of both indirect and direct characterization.What Is the Purpose of a Character Analysis Essay Up Next What is Characterization?Īs we mentioned above, characterization is incredibly important to understanding the characters of a great story. When analyzing a character, it’s important to wear both hats to provide an insightful, well-rounded character analysis that is unique and thoughtfully presented. While you may not be able to answer all of these questions from the characterization the author provides, it’s a great exercise to uncover what you may not have yet realized about this character.Ĭharacter analyses are not only a dive into the craft of writing and storytelling, but an analysis of psychology and experience. Is there a lesson you learned from all of this? How have you changed from what happened to you or through what you experienced? ![]() What is your background? How did you grow up? What questions would you ask them to really understand who they are? Here are a few examples of character analysis questions to get you started. Try to think of the character that you are analyzing as a person that actually exists that you are interviewing. A valuable tool to overcome these roadblocks are questions. How to Write a Proper Character Analysis Character analysis questionsĪs you continue to flesh out and write your character analysis you may hit some road blocks. You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.” Harper writes, “First of all,’ he said, ‘if you can learn a simple trick, Scout, you’ll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. These details often come from dialogue, goals, desires, and the history or background of the character.Īn example of indirect characterization can be found in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird. ![]() It is primarily utilized through what the character says, thinks, and does.Ī common acronym for indirect characterization is “STEAL” which refers to speech, thinks, effect, action, and looks. Indirect characterization, on the other hand, is a subtype of characterization that’s defined by “showing” rather than “telling.” It is an important technique used by writers for developing nuanced characters. Hemingway uses direct characterization to describe the main character writing “Everything about him was old except his eyes and they were the same color as the sea and were cheerful and undefeated.” Indirect characterization It’s simply the overt information we’re given about a character, such as “what they look like, what their job is, and what they appear to others.” Many literary scholars describe this type of characterization as “what we’re told about a character.”Īn example of this can be found in The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway. Watch our character analysis of Marty McFly and his "flat arc" for a great example of a character who doesn't change.ĭirect characterization is “surface level” characterization. Throughout a story, a static character largely remains the same and does not grow or develop in a substantial way. Static characterĪ static character is a character that does not undergo any significant internal change over the course of a story. This second question will help you write a better character analysis because it addresses whether or not your character changes or does not change over the course of the story. How to Write a Character Analysis Analyze the character’s development In the Harry Potter series, Albus Dumbledore is Harry’s mentor. ![]() The mentor is an integral component of Joseph Cambell’s hero’s journey story structure. MentorĪ mentor is a character that serves a guide and/or teacher for the story’s protagonist. In the Harry Potter series, Draco Malfoy is often Harry’s foil. ![]() Oftentimes, the thing that is exposed is a character folly, like cowardice or greed. FoilĪ foil character is a fictional character that serves to expose something intrinsic in another character. Alright we’ll say it for clarity - Lord Voldemort. Derived from the Greek word agonizesthai, “antagonist” literally translates to English as “to contend with.” In the Harry Potter series, "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named" is the antagonist. ![]()
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