EX1 - CHARACTER STUDY
ok... Ex1 is to do a character study, not story analysis.the little prince/Mr Twit/Mrs Twit are a key characters in the story. what does that mean? what is the role of the key character? & how does the key character drive the story? focus on the key character, study his traits, personality, behaviour, attitudes/values, motives, thoughts, etc...
>> all these characteristics are not told to you in words in the story, these characteristics are displayed/shown through situations (UNUSUAL/NON-TYPICAL SITUATIONS for the 2 stories)...
>> characters in situations to communicate key message/idea >> STORY
what can you learn from studying this key character?
how can you apply what you've learnt here to tell your own stories?
try to remember my comments about your character study during group presentation :)
ALL CHARACTERS HAVE A PURPOSE
Characters show/tell us about people, our world, about ourselves!
Characters & relationships with other characters help reveal their true character for us to know them better. when we know them well, we may start to "care" about them. we are anxious when they are in danger or upset when something happens to them...
CHARACTERS ARE
ABOUT PEOPLE, ABOUT US,
CHARACTERS ARE CREATED
FOR PEOPLE, FOR US
We love to hear about ourselves! Characters are familiar to us. Even aliens and non-human characters act/behave/think like humans in our stories!! We can learn about ourselves and know ourselves better through characters in a story.
NO CHARACTER = NO STORY!!
and we are all suckers for stories!!
Character Study:
SUPPORTING CHARACTERS
>> prompt reaction(s) from key character
>> prompt key character to reveal his/her thoughts and feelings
>> help us get to know key character better through their relationship/ dialogue/ activities
>> help us relate to the story/characters better
FOX
fox = wise, loyal, supportive, good at mentoring, etc
motive = wants to make friends with L. Prince
role = allows readers to understand meaning of friendship through situation (the chapter story)
apply
>> relationships/getting to know a character takes time & effort
>> the more you understand/know a character, the more you will feel for him/her (eg horror movies - u never feel bad if some characters are killed but u feel anxious & scared for the key characters)
THE KING
role = unlike the Little Prince > creates contrast, conflict & drama
apply
>> contrasting characters makes your key character outstanding, more prominent
THE ROSE
rose = "woman"
>> stereotyped, woman-like characteristics/behaviour/attitude
>> reflects what & how men think of/react to women
role = allows readers to understand relationship between men & women
apply
>> write for gender, eg white chicks
>> gender reacting & behaving when put together in a situation
THE SNAKE
snake = villain, dangerous
role = creates conflict, drama, sense of danger
apply
>> warning sign, dangerous character = conflict = drama
THE BUSINESSMAN
motive = focused on making money
>> a common trait that people can relate to
role = helps author communicate key message/idea
apply
>> prompts reaction from key character, prompts key character to think & react
>> helps us know key character better
THE RAILWAY SWITCHMAN
may be shortest chapter in the story BUT it re-confirms what the key character has learnt in previous chapters.
role = re-confirms lessons learnt
apply
>> the journey is more impt than the destination
THE LAMPLIGHTER
motive = focused on task, priority in life is task
>> a common trait that people can relate to
role = helps author communicate key message/idea
apply
>> prompts reaction from key character, prompts key character to think & react
>> helps us know key character better
ALL CHARACTERS HAVE
A PURPOSE IN YOUR STORY!!
NO CHARACTER = NO STORY
THE LITTLE PRINCE
- The little Prince learns about himself, his world and his life through all those characters he meets, even from the narrator
- through the Little Prince's story, we get to learn about his world and his life >> we learn as he learns about humans, about people and our world.
- the little Prince reflects our world, the different kinds of people we meet in real life and reflects things about ourselves - what we are like, how we think, how we react & behave...
>> APPLY = characters reveal our world and ourselves so when you can relate to your readers or viewers, they will LOVE your character = LOVE your story
MR & MRS TWIT
- using "extreme" characters, author shows us how people (like us) react to people like the twits
- readers are very clear about these characters - we understand who the twits are. from what we understand and are clear about, we will react & think accordingly >> like/dislike them
>> APPLY = when writing your stories make sure readers are clear about your character & that they understand and know your character very well. When they do, they start to have a "relationship" with the character, eg they may care for the character or they will watch the show because they love to see their favourite character in action
here are some of your classmate's work for character study:
