Lifelikeness

• Fictional characters do not have to be just like real human beings.  There is a difference.  However, they should be believable.

• Characters are not free to act as they please; the author creates an illusion of freedom.

• "Lifelikeness" must sometimes be sacrificed for the plot, theme, or unity of the work as a whole

Relevance

• Is the character someone you can understand and relate to on some level

• Characters can represent some universal quality (archetypal), or be eccentric individuals.

• Characters may resemble ourselves and people we know or may represent a universal quality that exists in all of us.

Judging characters

• How is this character relevant to the reader?

• How does he/she contribute to the story as a whole?

Simple characters

• May be stereotypes, or embodiments of a single characteristic; usually play major roles only in bad fiction.

• May be one-sided characters who do not represent universal types; predictable characters.

• Simple characters are often used to fulfill minor roles in the novel.

Complex characters

• These are more difficult to achieve.

• More lifelike than simple characters.

• Capable of surprising us.

• Gradations of complexity may exist

• Character should be unified; i.e., should not act "out of character": consistency and believability are important.

Methods of character portrayal

• Discursive method:  narrator tells their qualities

Disadvantage:  discourages reader's use of imagination.

Advantage:  saves time

• Dramatic method: author allows characters to reveal themselves by how they act and speak.

Advantage:  characters are more lifelike; involves reader's participation.

Disadvantage:  takes more time and allows for possibility of misjudging characters.

• Characters talk about other characters; information is not necessarily reliable.

• Mixing methods:  most common and most effective

Development of character: does the person grow in the novel?

Motivation:  point where plot and characters come together; plot is what characters do; motivation is why they do it.

Author may stress either plot or character; it is how they blend that matters.