The Art of Dramatic Writing: Constructing Character

Lajos Egri

Analogy- Objects are like characters All have three dimensions: depth, height,

width

So do characters: physiology, sociology, psychology

Need to Know More

It’s not enough to only know a character is rude or polite… you need to know WHY that character is that way. What happened to the character to cause this behavior?

Physiological

Describe what the character looks like- the character’s physicality

A hunchback would see the world differently from a perfectly normal man, right?

A lame, blind, deaf, or ugly person would see the world differently from a normal person, right?

A sick person would see the world differently from a well person, right?

Physiology

What does a character look like? Height Hair and eye color Race Age How the character dresses Physical defects or illnesses

Sociological

Your interactions with people and environments throughout your life- home, friends, parents, classmates, etc.

If you were forced to live in a basement, your reactions to people would be different than someone who grew up in a mansion, right?

If you were beaten by your parents growing up, your reactions would be different than someone who wasn’t, right?

Sociology

Where the character grew up Father/ mother- who were

they? and what was that

relationship like? Who were the character’s friends? Likes and dislikes- books, food, clothing, music, etc. Religion- does he/ she have it and what type?

Psychological

How a character behaves

A character’s behavior is shaped

by the physical and the sociological.

You must decide upon the first two

before working on the last.

Psychology

Attitude Complexes Temperament Frustrations Ambition Interactions with others- is he shy and reserved or

outspoken and boisterous? Mannerisms

Example Characters John Bender

“Eat my shorts.” Allison Reynolds

“When you grow up, your heart dies.” “They [my parents] ignore me.”

Brian Johnson “Dear Mr. Vernon,

We accept the fact that we had to sacrifice a whole Saturday in detention for whatever it was we did wrong. What we did *was* wrong. But we think you're crazy to make us write an essay telling you who we think we are. What do you care? You see us as you want to see us - in the simplest terms, in the most convenient definitions. You see us as a brain, an athlete, a basket case, a princess and a criminal. Correct? That's the way we saw each other at 7:00 this morning. We were brainwashed.”

Example Characters Will Hunting

“My father was an alcoholic. Used to come home hammered, looking to whale on someone. So I had to provoke him, so he wouldn't go after my mother and little brother. Interesting nights were when he wore his rings... He used to just put a belt, a stick, and a wrench on the kitchen table and say, "Choose."

Example Characters Quasimodo

“Out there among the millers and the weavers and their wives. Through the roofs and gables I can see them. Every day they shout and scold and go about their lives, heedless of the gift it is to be them. If I was in their skin, I'd treasure every instant out there, strolling by the Seine, taste a morning out there, like ordinary men, who freely walk about there. Just one day, and then I swear I'll be content with my share. Won't resent, won't despair, old and bent, I won't care, I'll have spent one day out there!”

Summer Reading Characters

As a group, select one of your FAV characters from summer reading and identify that character’s: Physiology Sociology Psychology

HW: Journal 1-3

Write a character sketch for the character your group brainstormed today.

One paragraph should describe his physiological nature.

One paragraph should describe his sociological nature.

One paragraph should describe his psychological nature.

1 page journal