Lesson 7 — Activity 3:

Characterization Revealed through Plot and Setting

Action is exciting in stories, novels, and movies, but the characters also provide a lot of interest. Without interesting characters, reading books or stories and watching movies is not entertaining. Have you ever read or viewed something that really did not interest you? Perhaps it was because the storyline or the characters were unappealing to you.

While characters can be make-believe (e.g., Superman), they must behave in a realistic way to allow the reader to make connections with the intended message of the story. Characters, much like the people in your community, can play a major or a minor role in what is happening. Characters can become more complex, change completely because of events, or they can remain the same.

Courtesy of Pixabay

The story "The Ninny" by Anton Chekhov has a surprising twist in the plot and reveals a lot of information about the male character, who could be the author. You know from reading this story that the man is really not as cruel as he is made out to be at the beginning of the story. His actions and words make him seem like a tyrant — someone who is mean and cruel and who is punishing the governess and unwilling to pay her a decent wage for her work with his children.

Through a story's plot line, the setting and the problems or conflicts are presented. This is how the reader is able to learn about the characters in the story. For this activity, you will use "The Ninny" again. However, this time you will focus on character.

The climax of the story occurs when the speaker says, "Dammit, don't you realize I've been cheating you? I steal your money and all you can say is 'Merci'?" Think about how your impression of the man changes. The speaker is quite a different person than he first appeared to be! Let's explore this character change.