Characters in Fiction

Character Traits

Trait: a quality of mind or habit of behavior Ex: self centered; sloppy; needy

Character traits help us to define and understand a character

Internal quality (ex. Selfishness) determines external behavior

Characterization Process

5 ways in which an author can teach you about the characters1. Actions by characters reveal their nature

▪ What we do defines who we are

2. Author’s descriptions of characters▪ Appearance & Environment can reveal

socioeconomic status

3. What the character says▪ Speeches move plot along but also allow us

to draw conclusions about character’s motives

Characterization Process

4. What others say about the character▪ Listen to what other characters say and

what it reveals about a given character

5. The author (as narrator) presents judgments about the character

▪ Usually doesn’t happen in fiction—most apt to happen in a play

Types of Characters

Round (usually the hero) Round characters undergo some sort of

change, making them DYNAMIC characters▪ Author presents enough detail to make them

full, lifelike, and memorable▪ Change may be shown in

▪ Actions▪ Realization of new strength▪ Acceptance of new conditions or the need to make

changes▪ The discovery of unrecognized truth

Types of Characters

Flat Flat characters do not grow or change;

they stay the same, making them STATIC characters▪ Usually act to highlight the changes of the

dynamic characters Stock Characters: representatives of a

class or group—stereotypes!▪ Insensitive father, interfering mother; greedy

politician

Other terms to know

Protagonist: a round character, who is clearly the main character in a story, but who lacks the qualities of a hero.

Antagonist: someone or something that opposes the goals of the protagonist (the bad guy)

Archetype: the original pattern or model from  which all things of the same kind are copied or on which they are based; a model or universal symbol; prototype (the hero, the mother figure, the villain, the scapegoat, etc.-can also be theme)

Antagonist

Honesty and Integrity

Mother and Maggie Dee/ Wangero

Self posturing / artificiality

Protagonist

Self-Sacrifice Rapacity

Authentic relationship to a heritage of things made for “everyday use”

Ethnic Pretentiousness

aesthetisismutilitarianism

“Everyday Use”Ingrained habits may be given up if justice makes a greater demand.

or

A person whose honesty and tolerance have long made her susceptible to the strong will of another may reach a point where she will exert her own will for the sake of justice.

“Cathedral” (1983)

Raymond Carver

Raymond Carver (1938-1988) Influential short story writer of the last decades of

the 20th century; influence comparable to Hemingway’s in the earlier part of the century

Born in Clatskanie, Oregon, raised in Pacific Northwest, married girlfriend right after high school (divorced in 1982)

Blue-color background: worked as janitor, sawmill worker (like his father); he often wrote about lower middle class workers

Struggled with alcoholism, like his father; quit drinking in 1977

Raymond Carver (1938-1988) got college degree and received M.F.A. from

prestigious University of Iowa Writers Workshop (from which Flannery O’Connor had graduated)

Taught at several universities, including Syracuse University in New York

Married poet Tess Gallagher in 1988; died that year of lung cancer

Raymond Carver (1938-1988) His style has been called “minimalist” for its

simple, spare narration; Carver rejected the term because it “smacks of smallness of vision and execution.”

Some early stories are bleak but later ones, like “Cathedral,” developed a more positive, spiritual dimension

Vision vs. Reality

“Cathedral” is about “vision vs. reality” in several senses Vision of cathedrals vs. narrator’s drab reality (job,

married life) Vision achieved in spite of real blindness Television (mass-media) vs. real life Art (drawing) vs. real life/ T.V.

Narrator’s Reality

Marriage: “My wife finally took her eyes off the blind man and looked at me. I had the feeling she didn’t like what she saw. I shrugged” (177); “My wife and I hardly ever went to bed at the same time” (180)

Job: “How long had I been in my present position? (Three years.) Did I like my work? (I didn’t.) Was I going to stay with it? (What were the options?)” (178)

ChartresCathedral of Notre-Dame

ChartresCathedral of Notre-Dame

Cathedrals: Narrator’s Description (2) “They’re massive. They’re built of stone.

Marble, too, sometimes. In those olden days, when they built cathedrals, men wanted to be close to God. In those olden days, God was an important part of everyone’s life. You could tell this from their cathedral-building” (181).

Reims

Carver’s Style

Simple, direct Colloquial- language is casual and conversational: it's the difference

between "What are you going to do?" and "Whatchagonnado?"

Statements of what happens, how things work (176, last ¶): “I saw my wife laughing as she parked the car. . . .”

Carver shows the minute details of reality to help us to see Similar to the narrator and his wife helping the

blind man see the details of the cathedral, the face

Indirect Characterization & Direct Characterization

Direct Characterization Author/narrator makes clear statements about

the character’s personality and what the character is like▪ Examples of Carver’s direct characterization of

Robert▪ “This blind man was late forties”▪ “a heavy-set”▪ “balding man”▪ “with stooped shoulders, as if he carried a great weight there”

Find 3 other examples of Direct Characterization with your table group.

Indirect Characterization & Direct Characterization

Indirect Characterization the writer reveals information about a character and his

personality through that character's thoughts, words, and actions, along with how other characters respond to that character, including what they think and say about him.

Think of it this way…direct characterization is a “tell”, while indirect characterization is a “show”Find 3examples of Indirect Characterization of with your table group.

Consider: Why does the narrator’s wife want Robert to visit? What factors lead to that decision? How do we know how Robert feels? How does the author hint at Robert’s mental state throughout the story?

Indirect Characterization & Direct Characterization Direct characterization moves plot along more quickly Indirect characterization engages the reader’s

imagination more

WRITING: First, determine what you deem to be Robert’s major

character trait—the one that really defines who he is. Then, discuss which method of characterization is

more effective in “Cathedral”. Write out a one paragraph explanation of which

method of characterization is more effective to determine the major character trait. Be specific. You must include at least two direct quotes

from the story to support your opinion