Characterization, a literary device

Types of Characterization

An author can use two approaches to deliver information about a character:

1. Direct or explicit characterization

It uses another character, narrator or the protagonist himself to tell the readers or audience about the subject.

2. Indirect or implicit characterization

This is a more subtle way of introducing the character to the audience. The audience has to deduce for themselves the characteristics of the character by observing his/her thoughts (first person narration), behavior, speech/language, appearance, and way of communication with other characters and also by discerning the response of other characters.

Characterization can be done through symbols, setting, name, social status and occupation, contrast, etc.

Characterization in Drama

On stage or in front of the camera, modern dramatists usually characterize by implying. Often, no direct statements about the character’s nature are found. We usually do not get access to the character’s inner thoughts (but it is possible, for instance through asides). This indirect approach can have a realistic effect. The inner turmoil of the character during the three hours of the show and lets the audience connect better. The actors who act in such roles usually work on them profoundly to get an in-depth idea of the personality of their respective character.

Examples from The Great Gatsby

In The Great Gatsby the main idea revolves around the social status of the characters. The major character of the book, Mr. Gatsby, is rich but he does not belong to the upper stratum of society. This means that he cannot have Daisy. Tom is essentially defined by his wealth and the abusive nature that he portrays every now and then, while Daisy is explained by Gatsby as having a voice full of money.

Another technique to highlight the qualities of a character is to put them in certain places (geographical setting) that are symbolic of a social status. In the novel, Gatsby resides in the West Egg, which is considered less trendy than East Egg, where Daisy lives. This difference points out the gap between Jay’s and Daisy’s social status. Moreover, Tom, Jordan and Daisy live in East Egg while Gatsby and Nick reside in West Egg, which again highlights the difference in their financial background. This division is reinforced at the end of the novel when Nick supports Gatsby against the rest.

Occupations have also been used very tactfully in the novel to highlight characteristics of certain protagonists. The prime example is Gatsby who, despite being so rich, is known by his profession: bootlegging. He had an illegal job that earned him a fortune but failed to get him into the upper class of New York. In contrast, Nick has a clean and fair job of a “bond man” that defines his character. The poor guy Wilson who fixes the rich people’s cars befriends his wife; and then there is Jordon, who is presented as a dishonest golf pro.

Function

Characterization is an essential component in writing good literature. It helps us make sense of the behavior of any character in a story by helping us understand their thought processes. A good use of characterization always leads the readers or audience to relate better to the events taking place in the story. Dialogues play a very important role in developing a character because they give us an opportunity to examine the motivations and actions of the characters more deeply.

Protagonist

A protagonist is the central character or leading figure in poetry, narrative, novel or any other story. A protagonist is sometimes called a “hero” by the audience or readers. Is Gatsby or Nick the protagonist? Is any of them a hero?

Iago in Othello could be identified as the protagonist of the novel because he played a central role in all the controversies of the play. The question here would be that, even though he was a central character, was he really the lead character too? Such a kind of indistinctness generally results in completely different interpretations of whether the said character is a protagonist or not.

Example #1

Protagonist examples in many stories are not shown to be flawless. They generally undergo some change that causes a turn of events, which makes a story interesting and helps deliver a message. Sometimes, a moral weakness is highlighted that causes the fall of the protagonist. For example: in William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, the protagonist experiences terrible events because of his indecisiveness, which troubles him while murdering his evil uncle. So, Hamlet’s struggle in dealing with the antagonist is what precedes the story.

Example #2

A protagonist can sometimes be very controversial because of some evil traits. One of the good examples of protagonist who is controversial would be Becky Sharp from William Makepeace Thackeray’s Vanity Fair, who can occasionally be very manipulative in order to achieve her own interests.

Example #3

There are ensemble stories that do not particularly highlight either one of the characters more than the rest. For instance, Addie Bundren’s demise in the novel As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner, results in her family traveling a long way to bury her, and they all tell the story from their own perspective, which makes them all equally important to the story. Thus, it leaves us with more than just one protagonist in the same story. Is this the case in The Great Gatsby?

Function of Protagonist

A protagonist is a very important tool used in developing a story. There are different terms used for a protagonist such as a hero, focal character, central character, main character, etc. Regardless of what title you give a protagonist, s/he remains the key ingredient in the development of the story, which is why the story revolves around him/her. More often than not the protagonist is fair and virtuous and is always found supporting the moral good. Further in the plot the protagonist may undergo some change, which will probably be the climax of the story.

Being the central element puts grave responsibilities on the shoulders of a protagonist. Since, the story revolves around the protagonist; s/he is the one who has to work as an emotional heart of the story, helping the audience connect with it on a basic level. A well-constructed protagonist attracts the audience emotionally and lets them relate to the joys, fears and hopes of the character in the story.

The events occurring in a story is always viewed from the perspective of the protagonist. The audience decides whether or not a particular event is favorable in a story. A wedding is an important and positive event in “The Sound of Music” because it is a positive event for the protagonist, Maria. However, the same kind of event in the movie “While You Were Sleeping” would be unfortunate because in that case the protagonist Lucy was marrying the wrong person.

Some stories weave many characters into an ensemble story but even in such stories there is one character that is more important to the story than the rest. For instance, in The Lord of the Rings trilogy there are many characters that have great significance to the story but Frodo Baggins is the one who stands out because everyone else’s destiny rests in his hands.

Antagonist

In literature, an antagonist is a character or a group of characters which stand in opposition to the protagonist or the main character. The term antagonist comes from Greek word “antagonistēs” that means opponent, competitor or rival.

It is common to refer to an antagonist as a villain (the bad guy) against whom a hero (the good guy) fights in order to relieve himself or others. In some cases, an antagonist may exist within the protagonist that causes an inner conflict or a moral conflict inside his mind. This inner conflict is a major theme of many literary works e.g. Doctor Faustus by Christopher Marlowe, Hamlet by William Shakespeare, and A Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce etc. Generally, an antagonist appears as a foil to the main character embodying qualities that are in contrast with the qualities of the main character.

Example #1

A classical example of an antagonist is that of King Creon in Sophocles’ tragedy “Antigone”. Here, the function of the antagonist is to obstruct the main character’s progress through evil plots and actions. Antigone, the protagonist, struggles against King Creon, the antagonist, in her effort to give her brother a respectable burial. Through his evil designs, Creon tries to hamper her in this attempt by announcing that her brother is a traitor and decreeing that “he must be left to the elements.” This protagonist-antagonist conflict becomes the theme of this tragedy.

Example #2

Another example of an antagonist is the character of “Iago” in Shakespeare’s “Othello”. Iago stands as the most notorious villains of all time who spends all his time in plotting against Othello, the protagonist, and his wife Desdemona. Through his evil schemes, he convinces Othello that his wife has been cheating on him and even convinces him to kill his own wife despite her being faithful to him. The thing that separates Iago from other antagonists is that we do not really know why he wants to destroy Othello.

Function of Antagonist

Conflict is a basic element of any plot. The presence of an antagonist alongside a protagonist is vital for the typical formula of a plot. The antagonist opposes the protagonist in his endeavors and thus the conflict ensues. The protagonist struggles against the antagonist who takes the plot to a climax and later the conflict is resolved with the defeat of the antagonist or, as in tragedies, with the downfall of the protagonist.

Multifaceted or Flat Character

A flat character does have any emotional depth, and might drawn with a few stock character traits (stereotypes).

A flat character is a simple character, shown by the authors having just one or two qualities, which almost remain the same throughout the story and do not undergo significant growth or changes. Character development: Often flat characters are “static” (opposite of “dynamic”), in other words they do not change too much from the start of the narrative to its end (they lack “character development”).

Characteristics of Flat Characters

• The role of flat characters is to support the main character.

• They do not go through a substantial growth or transformation in the course of the narrative.

• They have recognizable characteristics that make them appear stereotypical.

• They are often referred to as one or two-dimensional characters, usually having one perspective or point of view about life, things or events.

Example

Benvolio from Romeo and Juliet is a flat character, who remains unchanged throughout the play. He is temperate, solid and loyal, who always tries to maintain peace and harmony between the two families and whose purpose is to support Romeo to get married to Juliet. However, the irony is that others accuse him for his hot temperament and wild attitude.

Function of Flat Character

The role of a flat character is to help the main character in pursuing his ambitions and goals. The flat characters often play a supporting role in the story, play or novel. Though they are not very prominent characters, they are not unimportant too, because they bring harmony, peace and comedy in the story. Writers use these characters to create a specific atmosphere in the complex narrative structure.