A Note About Character; Lab

Let's play around a bit with a few character exercises. These are meant to be done relatively quickly, without a lot of worry or procrastination. As always, prompts and exercises are not the point, but are prewriting--the first step in the writing process. They can also be used to unstick us when we are blocked!

The least you need to know: Character Vocab

• Character: an imagined person who inhabits a story.
• Hero/Heroine: The main character of a story
• Villain: The character who opposes the main character
• Antihero: A normal, ordinary character (usually a character with human flaws)
• Protagonist: The main character of a story
• Antagonist: The opponent of the protagonist (this may be a natural force or setting too)
• Foil: Either one who is opposite to the main character or nearly the same as the main character. The purpose of the foil character is to emphasize the traits of the main character by contrast, and perhaps by setting up situations in which the protagonist can show his or her character traits. A foil is a secondary character who contrasts with a major character but, in so doing, highlights various facets of the main character's personality.

Characters can be either major or minor, round or flat.

Major characters are characters who are important to the conflict and plot of the story. They often have motivations linked with the main conflict

Minor characters are characters who are not necessarily important to the story. They often are used to develop the main characters or to provide rising action or complications to the plot.

Round characters have a distinct motivation and personality or "voice"; Often they are complex and dynamic (they change through the conflict of the story)

Flat characters are characters that do not change significantly through the conflict of the plot. Sometimes the reader knows or cares little about them because of lack of detail or purpose. Often, Flat characters are representative (allegorical or symbolic)

Stereotypes (aka stock characters): Characters who are generally recognized as a "type"; These characters lack individuality and often can be boring because we already know how they will act and why.

How is Character Disclosed in Literature?
Through characterization!

1. What the characters themselves say (and think, if the author expresses these thoughts).
2. What the characters do.
3. What other characters say about them.
4. What the author says about them, speaking as storyteller or observer.

LAB:
Continue writing fiction. See post below for details. As you write, consider how you are developing your character. If this is hazy still in your mind, start creating a backstory for your character as PREWRITING or use one of the exercises we did today in class, then use that information to help you continue writing your story.

HOMEWORK: Please read the introduction and "Every Little Hurricane" from the collection The Lone Ranger & Tonto Fistfight in Heaven. In the short story ("Every Little Hurricane") answer the following:

1. Who is the story's protagonist? Is this character a hero, villain, antihero, round, flat or stock character? Explain why you answered that using examples from the text.
2. List the minor characters in the story. How do these characters help define the protagonist? 
3. Locate and identify one passage (a paragraph or two) in this story that the author uses to characterize his protagonist. Explain how the author uses characterization in this passage.

Our Coffeehouse performance is Thursday. Please select a piece to read and rehearse it, if you are planning on attending!