Learn

One of the ways humans learn new information is by relating it to what we already know.  It helps us make sense of what we are learning.

As readers, we do the same thing when we encounter a new text.  Sometimes without even realizing we are doing it, we use previous knowledge and experiences to connect with and understand the texts we read. 

As you learned earlier, there are three main ways we, as readers, make sense of and connect to texts:

• comparing the text to ourselves
• comparing the text to events in the world
• comparing the text to other texts

There is one additional way we can make sense of a text and that is by

• comparing one character to another

Character-to-Character Comparisons

It is human nature to compare one person (or group of people) to another.  We examine why one person succeeds while others do not—was it the person’s appearance, education, or just plain hard work?  Even children compare one another to see where people fall into various social groups.  They are, often subconsciously, gathering information about what kinds of behaviours make people fit in and be accepted.

Comparing one character to another in a text achieves a similar purpose.  It helps us understand each character more deeply, and it gives us greater insight into human behaviour.  Sometimes it’s only by comparing two very different characters that certain qualities become obvious.

The next assignment you will complete requires you to compare two characters from the texts you have read in this course.