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Character Analysis
• Select a favorite character from a movie, book, or television show.
• List several adjectives that describe that character’s personality.
• Describe why that character is especially memorable.
First: Identify Character Type
PART I • Protagonist
– The main character around whom most of the work revolves.
• Antagonist – The person who the protagonist is against.
This is often the villain, but could be a force of nature, set of circumstances, an animal, etc. (See conflict.)
First: Identify Character Type
PART II • Dynamic (changing)
– The character learns, grows, and changes opinions or ideas about themselves or about life during the course of the story.
• Static (unchanging) – The character does not learn or grow at all
during the story.
Second: Describe the Character
STEREOTYPES • Is the author taking advantage of
stereotypes? – The hot-tempered redhead, the boring
brunette, the playboy fraternity guy. • Is the author going against stereotypes?
– The brilliant blonde, the socially adept professor, the rich immigrant.
Second: Describe the Character
PHYSICAL APPEARANCE • What does the character look like? – Appearance and visual attributes are less
important than other factors, unless their appearance is the point.
• Clothing rarely matters, except to make the character easier to visualize. – Unless a character always wears a specific
type or article of clothing.
Third: Describing Conflict
EXTERNAL CONFLICT • Man versus Man
– The protagonist versus the antagonist. – EXAMPLE:
• Man vs. Machine
– The machine is the enemy. – This is considered a subset of Man vs. Man. – EXAMPLE:
Third: Describing Conflict
EXTERNAL CONFLICT • Man vs. Nature
– The protagonist must struggle against natural events, such as weather or natural disasters.
– EXAMPLE: • Man vs. Animal
– Usually the animal is a predator and the man has become prey for some reason. Could also be humorous.
– This is considered a subset of Man vs. Nature. – EXAMPLE:
Third: Describing Conflict
EXTERNAL CONFLICT • Man vs. Society
– The protagonist has different morals or values than those around him.
– EXAMPLE:
• Man vs. Fate or Destiny – No matter what the protagonist does, it seems like
he is destined to go down a certain path, complete a certain task, or confront a certain person.
– EXAMPLE:
Third: Describing Conflict
INTERNAL CONFLICT • Man vs. Himself
• The character has an ethical dilemma. – Steal to feed his family or watch them starve. – Lie to the government and save the people in the
basement or tell the truth and have them taken away. – This is the equivalent of the cartoon devil and angel on
either shoulder. – EXAMPLE:
Other Considerations
• What motivates the character? What does he/she want?
• What strengths does he/she have? What are his/her good qualities?
• What weaknesses does he/she have? What are his/her bad qualities?
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