Describing A Character For A Character Analysis Study Cum Worksheet
Describing A Character For A Character Analysis Study Cum Worksheet
Weakness could be anything. In Little Red Riding Hood, the girl talks to a
stranger. Thats a weakness or could be construed as one.
strengths/virtues
There are many different strengths and virtues.
One strength/virtue is being good in trying times, like Cinderella. You could try
other kinds that are not so black and white- Gillian, for example?
Another strength/virtue is caring for family, like the Drovers Wife.
Another strength/virtue is being smart, like Nicholas in The Lumber Room.
Most protagonists have more than one strength/virtue.
moral constitution
Often a character will agonize over right and wrong.
If a character doesnt agonize and chooses one or the other easily, that is also
significant.
protagonist/antagonist
Does the story revolve around this characters actions? (Drovers wife, Tom,
Alligator?)
If so, is the character the hero (protagonist:-Nicholas) or villain (antagonist the
Aunt)?
complex/simple personality
Personalities are more likely to be simple in childrens stories, fairy tales, and short
stories.
Personalities are more likely to be complex in longer works.
Even in short works the characters personality can be complex. Then it depends
on what the author was focusing on. Boori Ma, for instance, or Mary Maloney in
another.
history and background
Sometimes a character analysis looks at the history of the individual character.
Was that person mistreated? abused? well-loved? liked?
Sometimes the history of the work matters more. Is the story set in World War II?
In ancient Greece? That makes a difference because culture changes stories. If
you dont know the culture, though, you may not be able to comment on this.
similarities and differences between the characters
This could be the foil aspect again.
It could be looking at how characters complement each other.
It could be looking at why characters would be antagonistic.
characters function in story
Is the character an integral character? (Mary Maloney)
Is the character a minor character? (the grocer in the same story)
Is the character someone who could have been left out or is gratuitous? (i.e.
superfluous short stories will rarely have such a character; longer novellas or
novels will have this)
Conflict can be many things:
External
man vs. man: This is the protagonist versus the antagonist. Mary Maloney vs.
Patrick; Bacteriologist vs the Anarchist. In poetry, Mending Wall, for instance.
Enterprise has this too. (look for this only in narrative poems, though)
man vs. machine: This is when the machine is the enemy. Many robot-centric
novels have this issue. (This is sometimes considered a subset of man vs. man.)
man vs. nature: the drovers wife vs. the snake; the fire; the bullock; the flood.
Again, Mending Wall or Do Not Go Gentle
man vs. animal: Usually the animal is a predator and the man has become prey for
some reason. Again, the drovers wife has numerous examples It could be
humorous, though, the man is trying to catch the dog, who runs away and has the
main character chasing him all over creation. (This is sometimes considered a
subset of man vs. nature.)
man vs. fate or destiny: we dont have a specific character in the stories now.
man vs. society: This is when a character battles societal norms. The poems offer
some hope here: Phenomenal Woman; or Breaking Out; The narrator of Do Not
Go Gentle;
Internal
man vs. himself: This is when the character has an ethical dilemma, stealing 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 cartoon
equivalent of the devil and the angel on either shoulder.
man vs. his mind: This is the character with internal problems that are not ethical,
but mental. An example, as was pointed out in the comments, is the character with
schizophrenia or one who is bipolar. How does the character deal with his/her
limitations? What do they have to overcome? How do they overcome it? Is it
harder or easier to overcome something that is a part of the character than it is to
overcome something that is outside of the character?
Practice:
Write a character sketch for:
a. Boori Ma
b. The drovers wife, Alligator, Tom
c. Bacteriologist, Minnie, the anarchist
d. Old Bryson, Gillian
e. Mary Maloney
f. Bhusan, Moni, the Schoolmaster
g. Nicholas, the aunt
h. William and Philippa in Old Love