1. CHARACTER and CHARACTERIZATION
Who is this person and how does the author let us know?

2. Types of Characters
Protagonist: the main character in a story—it’s the person whose journey we are going on, so to speak! It may be the hero…but it might not be, too.
Antagonist: the person or thing that causes opposition (conflict) for the protagonist.
Minor Characters (Secondary Characters): less significant characters that generally exist to interact with main characters and their development and help to help the story move along.
Stock Characters and Archetypes: re-occurring character types…we see them all the time! Example?

3. Methods of Characterization
Direct Characterization: The author tells what the characters are like.
Indirect Characterization: The author shows, rather than tells, what a character is like through
The author can do this through a characters:
Speech
Thoughts
Effects on other characters
Actions
Looks
Discussion Questions:
Why might a character’s actions and speech be misleading?
Which type of indirect characterization is “most telling” about a character?
Why might an author choose one type of characterization over another? For instance, why might an author make us infer things about a character as opposed to just coming out and directly telling us those details?

4. Character Development and character arc
A flat character is an individual whose distinguishing moral qualities or personal traits are summed in one or two traits.
A round character is an individual whose moral qualities or personal traits are complex and many- sided.
Static characters are the same sort of people at the end of a work as at the beginning. They don’t change.
Dynamic characters change in some important way during the course of the story. They undergo a permanent change in some distinguishing moral qualities or personal traits or outlook.
Epiphany: a sudden revelation of truth experienced by a character; a moment or event in which a character achieves a spiritual insight into life or into her or his own circumstances.

5. Character Arc & Theme How are they related?
Oftentimes the way in which a character changes (or does not change) throughout the story gives us the biggest hint as to what the author’s philosophical message (theme) is in the story!!!!
Look for an epiphany, or lack of one, to help you figure theme out.

6. Any Questions?