What is Character Analysis?
Character analysis is how we dig deep into a character’s personality, motivations, and function within a story. It’s more than just summarizing a person’s qualities; it’s about dissecting their psychology and experience.
Character analysis is the key to understanding literature and storytelling on a deeper level. By looking closely at a character’s traits, we can unlock hidden themes, motifs, and symbols woven into the story.
This article will give you a comprehensive guide to understanding and conducting effective character analyses. We’ll break down the key steps and provide tips to help you explore characters with greater insight and understanding.
What is character analysis?
Character analysis is when you examine a character’s qualities, traits, motivations, and relationships in a narrative. Rather than just summarizing what a character does, you’re looking at why they do it.
In character analysis, you’ll be considering things like a character’s strengths and weaknesses, personality, relationships, and motivations, along with how those elements change over time.
Why is character analysis important?
When you analyze a character, you’ll understand the story more deeply and be better able to appreciate the complexities of human behavior as they’re presented in literature.
Character analysis can expose underlying themes, motifs, and symbols in the story, and give you insights into the author’s message.
Types of Characters and Their Functions
Characters are the heart of any story. Understanding their roles and motivations can unlock deeper meanings within the narrative. Here are a few common character types and how to analyze them:
Protagonist
The protagonist is the main character. Often, they’re the one driving the plot forward. Think Harry Potter or Katniss Everdeen.
When analyzing a protagonist, focus on their goals, what motivates them, and what obstacles they face.
Antagonist
The antagonist opposes the protagonist, creating conflict. Examples include Anton Chigurh from No Country for Old Men or Voldemort.
To analyze an antagonist, try to understand their motivations and how their actions escalate the central conflict of the story.
Foil
A foil is a character who contrasts with another character, usually the protagonist. This contrast highlights certain qualities in both characters. Draco Malfoy serves as a foil to Harry Potter, for example.
When analyzing a foil, identify the specific qualities the author emphasizes through the contrast between the two characters.
Mentor
The mentor provides guidance and support to the protagonist. Dumbledore in Harry Potter and Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings are classic examples.
Analyze a mentor’s role in the protagonist’s development and the wisdom they offer.
Static vs. dynamic characters
Characters can be roughly divided into two types: static and dynamic. Both types serve different purposes in a story, and understanding the difference is key to a good analysis.
Static characters
A static character doesn’t change much, if at all, during the course of the story. Think of Marty McFly in Back to the Future. He’s pretty much the same guy at the end of the movie as he was at the beginning.
When you’re analyzing a static character, ask yourself why the author chose to make this character unchanging. What does that contribute to the overall story?
Dynamic characters
A dynamic character changes significantly, usually because of something that happens to them during the story.
When analyzing a dynamic character, track their development throughout the story. What are the turning points? How do they transform? Pay attention to how consistent they are (or aren’t) over time.
Analyzing Characterization: Direct and Indirect
Authors use different techniques to reveal the personalities of the characters in their stories. They can tell you directly what a character is like, or they can show you through the character’s behavior and interactions.
Direct Characterization
Direct characterization is when the author straight-up tells you what a character is like.
For example, in Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea, the narrator says, “Everything about him was old except his eyes and they were the same color as the sea and were cheerful and undefeated.”
When you’re analyzing direct characterization, think about how the author is using it to quickly establish certain qualities about a character.
Indirect Characterization
Indirect characterization is when the author shows you the character’s traits through their actions, speech, thoughts, and how they interact with other characters.
In To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus Finch says, “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view…until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.” This shows how compassionate Atticus is.
A good way to analyze indirect characterization is to use the STEAL method: Speech, Thoughts, Effect on others, Actions, and Looks. By looking at these elements, you can infer a lot about a character’s personality.
Keep in mind that characters can be complex. A character who is kind to one person but cruel to another might need a deeper analysis to understand their motivations and personality traits.
How to analyze a character
Character analysis isn’t just about summarizing a character’s traits. It’s about digging deep to understand why they are the way they are and how they contribute to the story as a whole. Here’s a breakdown of the process.
Preparing for analysis
- Pick a character who grabs your attention and seems connected to the book’s bigger ideas.
- Read the book carefully, marking important lines and moments that reveal something about the character.
- Jot down detailed notes about the character’s personality, strengths, flaws, how they change over time, and their relationships with other characters.
Identifying and examining character traits
Consider the character’s physical appearance, their emotions, and their overall personality. How do these traits influence what they do and the choices they make?
Understanding motivations and goals
What makes the character tick? What do they want to achieve? Understanding what drives a character is key to understanding them fully. How do their desires affect their relationships with others and the story’s plot?
Examining relationships with other characters
The way a character interacts with others can reveal a lot about who they are and what motivates them. Analyze how they behave around different people and what those relationships tell you about their personality.
Structuring and Writing Your Character Analysis
Once you’ve thought through the character and their role in the story, it’s time to put your analysis on paper. Here’s how to approach the writing process:
Creating an Outline
Before you start writing, create a logical outline for your analysis. I recommend structuring it with an introduction, several body paragraphs focusing on different aspects of the character, and a conclusion.
Balancing Summary and Analysis
You need to provide some context for your reader, but the emphasis should be on analysis and interpretation. Back up your claims with evidence from the text itself – quotes, descriptions of actions, and so on.
Choosing a Point of Focus
To make your analysis strong and insightful, concentrate on a particular aspect of the character. Don’t just summarize what the character does in the story; dig deeper and explore why they do it and what it reveals about them.
Closing Thoughts
When reading literature, one of the most rewarding things you can do is analyze the characters. By taking a closer look at the traits, motivations, relationships, and development of a character, you can unlock deeper layers of meaning in a story.
Remember to think critically about what the author shows you about the character and what the character’s actions reveal. Pay attention to what other characters say about them, too.
Next time you’re reading a book, try applying these principles. Character analysis can transform the way you experience a literary work.