Reading quiz (Q1)

Person vs. Nature 

This involves a character struggling against natural forces or the environment (usually to survive). 

Examples: TV shows like Naked and Afraid or Survivor

Person vs. Society 

These are stories where an individual or a group is fighting against injustices (laws, social norms, etc.) within their society.

Example: In Zootopia, Judy Hopps challenges systemic prejudice and proves that “anyone can be anything.”

Person vs. Person

This occurs when a character struggles against another character.  It can be physical, emotional, or intellectual. 

Examples: Harry Potter vs. Voldemort, Luke Skywalker vs. Darth Vader 

Person vs. Self 

This happens when a character battles their own thoughts, feelings, or decisions. It often involves moral dilemmas or personal growth

Example: Katniss choosing between Peeta and Gale in The Hunter Games

Person vs. The Unknown

These stories (often science fiction or horror genres) involve a character struggling against an entity that isn’t entirely known or comprehensible (aliens, ghosts, demons, etc.) 

Examples: Independence Day, Stranger Things 

Person vs. Technology 

These are stories involve characters fighting against emotionless AI, machines, or other scientific creations. 

Example: Avengers: Age of Ultron, iRobot, The Terminator

Person vs. Fate/God(s) 

These stories involve a character feeling trapped by an inevitable destiny; freedom and free will often seem impossible in these stories.  

Examples: Hercules, They Both Die at the End, The Fault in Our Stars, Romeo & Juliet

Protagonist

 The main character in the story. They should be carefully crafted with a logical backstory, personal motivation, and a character arc over the course of the story. Often the story will be told from their point of view.

Antagonist

The villain of the story. Think Lex Luthor or Lord Voldemort. Note that an antagonist is not the same as an anti-hero like the Joker or Walter White. Anti-heroes are villainous people who function in a protagonist’s role.

Love interest

The love interest is the protagonist’s object of desire. A good love interest will be compelling and three-dimensional, like Daisy Buchanan in The Great Gatsby.

Confidant

A character whose main purpose is to give the protagonist someone to open up to—to share inner thoughts, fears, doubts, or hopes that otherwise would stay hidden from the audience. This type of character is usually a best friend or sidekick of the protagonist. A confidant might also serve the role of a deuteragonist. A particularly famous confidant is Hermione in Harry Potter.

Deuteragonists

The character who plays the “second lead” role. They may support, contrast, or even challenge the protagonist. They usually have their own development arc, and their choices strongly affect the outcome of the story.  A good example is Samwise Gamgee from The Lord of the Rings.

Tertiary

Tertiary characters populate the world of the story but do not necessarily link to the main storyline. These minor characters serve any number of functions and may have varying degrees of personal dynamism. Think of Padma and Parvati Patil in the Harry Potter series. In Spider-Man, various tertiary characters help fill out the world of Peter Parker’s New York.

Foil

A foil character primarily exists to bring the protagonist’s qualities into sharper relief.  This is because the foil is effectively the opposite of the protagonist. In the Star Trek series, Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock serve as each other’s foils since their personalities are so notably different. Draco Malfoy is a foil to Harry Potter.

Dynamic character

A dynamic character is one who changes over the course of the story. As such, a dynamic character makes the best protagonist. In Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, both Huck and Jim are dynamic characters.

Round character

Closely related to a dynamic character, a round character is a major character who shows fluidity (might change multiple times) and the capacity for change from the moment we meet them. By contrast, some dynamic protagonists do not change until actions in the story force that change. 

Static character

A static character does not noticeably change over the course of a story. Sometimes known as a flat character, these characters often play tertiary roles in a narrative (think of various parental figures in Roald Dahl’s children's books). Many villains are also static: They were evil yesterday, they’ll be evil today, and they’ll be evil tomorrow.

Stock character

A stock character is an archetypal character with a fixed set of personality traits. They fill particular roles within a story (the caregiver, the sage, the outlaw, the jester, the lover, etc.) and tend to be flat, simple, and even cliche.

Symbolic character

A symbolic character represents a concept or theme larger than themselves. They may have dynamic qualities, but they also exist to subtly steer an audience’s mind toward broader concepts. Most are supporting characters, but some stories have symbolic protagonists, such as Dostoevsky’s The Idiot. When it comes to symbolic supporting characters, Boo Radley in To Kill A Mockingbird is an example, representing a much larger legion of outcasts.

First Person

• First person perspective is when “I” am telling the story.  The first person POV character is in the story, relating his or her experiences directly. 

• Uses the pronouns “I,” “we,” “me,” and “us.” 

• Drawback: The story is narrated from a single character's perspective at a time. They cannot be everywhere at once and thus cannot get all sides of the story. 

• Pro: It is easy for the audience to get to know that character and build empathy.

Second Person

• The story is told to “you.”  This POV is not common in fiction, but is often used  in nonfiction, songs, and video games.   

• The narrator relates the experiences using second person pronouns, like “you” and “your.”  Thus, you become the protagonist, you carry the plot, and your fate determines the story.

• Breaking the fourth wall: This is a narrative device where in the middle of a 1st or 3rd-person narrative, a character will turn toward the audience and speak directly to them. 

Third Person

• The third-person point-of-view stories, the author is outside the story and relating the experiences of the character by using pronouns such as “she/he” or “they.” 

• There are two types: 

  1. LIMITED:  The narrator has only some, if any, access to the thoughts and experiences of the characters in the story, often just to one character.

  2. OMNISCIENT:  The all-knowing narrator has full access to all the thoughts and experiences of all the characters in the story. 

• NOTE: The line between limited and omniscient is on a sliding scale.  Sometimes the author might have access to the thoughts and experiences of more than one character; however, it’s typical to not have access to both at the same time.  For example, an author might alternate perspectives each chapter. 

LINEAR (BASIC STRUCTURE)

When a story centers on a central conflict or event, a linear structure is typically used. A linear story is written in chronological order and relates the action as it is happening.

IN MEDIAS RES

"In medias res" refers to a story that begins in the middle and gradually supplies exposition through dialogue, flashbacks, or description of past events.

A famous example of this organizational structure would be Homer's The Odyssey. The epic tale opens with Odysseus stranded on an island. The hero recounts how he arrived on the island, and then the story moves forward as he exacts revenge upon his enemies.

"In medias res" is appropriate when an author wishes to do the following:

- Emphasize the present

-Begin with action

Recorder asia curiosity or suspense regarding a character's past

CIRCULAR

A circular narrative concludes where it started, bringing closure to the story by returning to the theme or material introduced at the beginning. Writers achieve this by repeating key phrases or imagery from the beginning of the story or returning the narrator to a setting of importance. "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" by James Thurber is a good example, as the story concludes with Mitty escaping his mundane life into another fantasy (just as when the story opened).

PARALLEL

A story with a parallel structure contains multiple storylines-which are distinctly different, yet closely related-occurring simultaneously. A great example of this style of organization is The Lord of the Rings, in which the audience bounces between Frodo and Sam's quest to destroy the ring and the adventures of other characters.

FLASHBACKS

Flashbacks are an important organizational structure allowing authors to interrupt the present with the past. NOTE: Flashbacks are combined with other organizational structures.

A famous example of flashbacks would be the Batman movies. In these movies, Batman often flashes back to his childhood. The flashbacks provide the viewer with information supporting why Batman makes specific choices--in the present--by revealing key moments from his past.

Flashbacks are appropriate when an author wishes to show how the past and present are connected.

FRAME

A frame story consists of multiple smaller stories within the context (or frame) of a larger story. Each of the narratives within the frame can usually stand alone, but has more meaning when analyzed alongside the larger story. Writers sometimes use a frame structure when they want to tie together various tales/events that might seem disconnected but actually be related by theme, etc. One example is Forrest Gump. For the majority of the film, other than the first couple of minutes and the final twenty minutes, Forrest is narrating various tales of his past from a park bench. The movie begins and ends in the present tense.