Lesson 26 — Activity 2: Characters in the Novel
Completion requirements
Lesson 26 — Activity 2: Characters in the Novel
Earlier in the course, you learned terms to describe various types of characters in stories.
You might remember that characters may be described in some of the following ways:
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Static characters
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Dynamic characters
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Flat characters
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Round characters
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Stereotyped characters
Round character:
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- Most protagonists are round characters as the reader learns quite a lot about this person.
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Flat character:
- The reader is given little information about such a character.
- This usually applies to minor characters in a story.
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Stock character:
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Another name for this type of character is stereotype. This is a character that is identified with a particular group and there is an automatic assumption as to how this person will perform. For example, a spoiled rich girl, an athlete, a street punk,
or someone who only cares about himself and how much money he has!
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It is also important to see whether or not a character changes as a result of his or her experiences.
Static character:
Static character:
- Just as some people refuse to change their attitudes or don’t seem to learn from their mistakes, not all characters in stories grow as a result of their experiences. A character that stays the same is said to be static.
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Dynamic character:
- Have you had an experience in your life from which you have learned something? Has something ever happened to you that has made you examine your own beliefs, attitudes, or values? You may have changed them or perhaps your experience has made you even stronger in your beliefs. This means you are a dynamic character as you have undergone a change.
- This term only applies to a round character because this is the only type of character about whom a reader knows enough to know whether or not a change has occurred.
Writers have different ways of presenting their characters: either directly by telling you about the character or indirectly by showing you what the character does and says. Please complete the Self-check Activity below.
Digging Deeper!
Click on the Play button below to review a video that you watched in Theme 2 about the different character types.