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?