Character Analysis Essay printable pdf download

CHARACTER ANALYSIS ESSAY

Character in literature is an extended verbal representation of a human being,

specifically the inner self that determines thought, speech, and behaviour.

Through dialogue, action, and commentary, literature captures some of the

interactions of character and circumstance. Literature makes these interactions

interesting by portraying characters who are worth caring about, rooting for, and

even loving, although there are also characters at whom you may laugh or whom

you may dislike or even hate.

In literature you may expect completeness of context. That is, you may think of

each action or speech, no matter how small or seemingly unusual, as an

accumulating part of a total portrait. Whereas in life things may "just happen", in

literature the actions, interactions, speeches, and observations are all arranged

to give you the details you need for conclusions about character. From these

happenings in their contexts you make inferences about the characters involved.

In effect, you determine the "character" of the various characters.

In writing about a literary character, you should try to describe the character’s

major trait or traits. As in life, characters may be lazy or ambitious, anxious or

serene aggressive or fearful, assertive or bashful, confident or self-doubting,

adventurous or timid, noisy or quiet, visionary or practical, reasonable or hot-

headed, careful or careless, fair or partial, straightforward or underhanded,

"winners" or "losers", and so on. With this sort of list, to which you may add at

will, you can analyze and write about character.

The appearance of a character is also worth noticing. Often a writer gives

physical features to a character in order to match them or contrast them with

some aspect of the character’s mind and personality. Even the name of the

person may be significant. Charles Dickens, for example, uses character names

with efficacy. He names one of his characters, a brutal schoolmaster, "Wackford

Squeers". The name conjures up a man given to thrashing his pupils (literally

giving them "wacks").

When you study character, be sure to consider physical descriptions, but also be

sure to relate the physical to the mental, Suppose your author stresses the

neatness of one character and the sloppiness of another. Most likely, these

descriptions can be related to your character study. The same also applies to

your treatment of what a character does. Go beyond the actions themselves and

try to indicate what they show about the character. Always try to get from the

outside to the inside, for it is on the inside that character resides.

Character Analysis Essay