l4;character analysis

Primary Objective: To systematically organize the events of the novel and identify which characters undergo growth and which remain static throughout the narrative.
Definition of Key Events: Key events are defined as pivotal moments in a story that impact the characters and maintain or alter the trajectory of the narrative. These moments often involve:
- A character being forced to change their current direction.
- A character learning from a specific mistake.
- A character relating to one of the major themes of the text.
Criteria for Identifying Key Events: When determining what constitutes a key event, consider the following factors:
- Setting.
- Participating characters.
- Major occurrences.
- Altercations or conflicts that have a lasting impact on the story.

Setting: The early chapters are set in Cairo, Egypt.
Key Plot Points:
- Akita: At $8$ years old, she is racially targeted and bullied at her school.
- Taresai (The Mother): Following the school principal's decision to turn a blind eye to the racial abuse, Taresai removes her two oldest children, Akita and Santo, from the school.
- Economic Strategy: Taresai runs a successful rum business from their home to help pay family bills.
- Migration: The family formulates a plan to leave Cairo for Sydney, Australia, seeking better opportunities.
- Thematic Reflection: Taresai reflects on her own childhood, specifically how her education was interrupted so she could help raise her twin sisters, a situation that strained her relationship with her own mother.

Characterisation: This is the method authors use to construct characters so they appear realistic. Characters are deliberately written with flaws to mimic real life. It is built through three specific layers:
- Characteristics: These are the physical qualities of a character, including their appearance, age, and occupation.
- Character Traits: These refer to personality, likes, and dislikes. These are not always explicitly stated and often require the reader to make an inference.
- Character Development: This tracks how a character changes over the course of the text.
  - Dynamic Characters: Characters who undergo significant internal or external change.
  - Static Characters: Characters who do not change throughout the narrative.
The Four Elements of Character Analysis: Analysis is performed by examining the following:
- Opinions, Likes, and Dislikes: Identifying what they are and the evidence that supports them.
- Speech and Dialogue: What the character says and what they say about others, revealing traits through verbal interaction.
- External Perspectives: How the opinions and statements of other characters shape the overall analysis of a specific character.
- Motivations and Influences: Determining what influences the specific choices a character makes.

Perspective: The novel utilizes two alternate first-person perspectives:
- Taresai: An adult mother navigating the complexities of migrating to a new country and learning an unfamiliar language.
- Akita: Begins the novel as an $8$ -year-old child and ages as the story progresses.
Impact of Perspective: Readers learn the most about these two protagonists and understand all secondary characters through their specific subjective lenses.
Case Study (Santo): The impression of the character Santo fluctuates depending on the narrator.
- When Taresai describes him, the reader sees him through a mother's eyes.
- When Akita narrates, different facets of his personality and actions are revealed, leading to a different realization of his character.

Context: Set during the second week of "Mama" acting as the teacher in a makeshift living room classroom.
Observations of Akita:
- She prefers Taresai's teaching over her previous teacher, Miss Hanna.
- She is currently learning numeracy using small wooden beads because she cannot yet read or write.
- She expresses a total lack of nostalgia for her school, citing "nasty teachers" and "mean kids."
- Her only regret is that she was very close to learning how to write her name before being pulled out.
Observations of Santo:
- He struggles with focus, with his attention dwindling like "it always does at this time of day."
- He completes his work in "comical bubble writing," which Akita compares to street graffiti.
- He is described as someone who creates games in bare environments that only he wins because he makes the rules up as he goes.
- He displays a rebellious streak, opening a high-floor window that is strictly forbidden by his parents to "see the view" and smell the street.
Setting Details:
- The bedroom contains two small metal beds.
- Akita has yellow sheets with pink hearts; Santo has blue sheets with clouds (which he insists are "smoke puffs").
- The view from the top-floor apartment includes pyramids in the desert that look like "castles in the sky."

Context: Santo returns home after being imprisoned at Port Phillip Corrections.
Santo’s Transformation:
- Physical: Described as a "large figure," head shaven, with "obsidian" eyes and "sharp" teeth.
- Markings: He has deep scars on the back of his hand that look like "a string made from lightning."
- Mental State: He claims he is "much, much better now" and that his past violent actions were a result of "shit I was pumping into me" causing him to black out.
Akita’s Trauma:
- She possesses a physical scar above her left brow, a "stain" left by Santo using a metal pipe during an incident the previous year.
- She reacts with physical tension and "terror," feeling as though she is in a "fever dream."
- She notes that Taresai was the only one who maintained contact with Santo while he was in "the slammer."
Family Dynamics:
- Santo reveals he has known for weeks that their father is returning.
- Akita realizes Taresai told Santo about the father's return before telling the rest of the children to give him something to hold onto while everything else was lost.

Tracking Growth: Development is identified by comparing a character's traits and reactions across different temporal points of the novel (e.g., Chapter 2 vs. Chapter 36).
Growth Drivers: Analyzed by looking at what events lead to growth and, conversely, what obstacles (trauma, environment, or personal choice) hold characters back from developing.
Migration and Adaptation: Different characters adapt to the change of moving from Cairo to Australia in various ways, influenced by their age, responsibilities, and external social expectations/norms.