Characters, Ethics, Voice & Poetic Language – Exam Review Notes

Characters & Characterisation

  • Narratives require a main figure: protagonist (fiction) or subject (non-fiction)
  • Characters are semiotic constructs; readers know them only via textual signifiers
  • Flat characters: single idea/type, few traits, little change
  • Round characters: complex, contradictory, past-shaped, capable of growth; protagonists are usually round

Subjects in Narrative Non-Fiction

  • Biography: subject = protagonist; memoir: narrator = protagonist
  • Apply fiction techniques but remain factually accurate

Ethical Representation & Symbolic Harm

  • Ethics = standards of right/wrong AND reflection on those standards
  • Symbolic harm: stereotypes, reinforcing oppression, gratuitous violence
  • Key questions: potential harm? societal benefit? mitigation? benefit > risk?
  • Non-fiction: align with evidence, respect living relatives, observe Australian defamation law (does not cover the deceased)

Techniques for Characterisation

  • Description: appearance, movement, bodily sensations
  • Motif: recurring image/object signalling traits or symbolism
  • Dialogue: speech patterns reveal background & relationships
  • Interior monologue: access to thoughts/feelings (limited in biography)
  • Place interaction: landscape + character perception builds meaning

Voice (Narrative Style)

  • Narrator’s perspective shapes diction and tone
  • Consider: word choice, tone, dialect, verbosity, sentence structure, rhythm
  • Use varied sentences (active/passive, length, fragments) for effect

Poetic Language in Prose

  • Purpose: surprise, evoke emotion through connotation & imagery; avoid clichés
  • Devices:
    • Vivid imagery: concrete, specific, allegorical
    • Motif: repeated element for emphasis
    • Metaphor: A=BA = B to transfer qualities (e.g., "faces = petals")
    • Simile: A like BA \text{ like } B (e.g., "breasts are huge exciting anchors")
    • Personification: human traits to inanimate objects