- Who is the protagonist, or might there be more than one? Why and how so? Which other characters, if any, are main or major characters? Which are minor characters?
The protagonist is the main character in a work of literature, often portrayed as the “good guy”. I do believe that there may be more than one protagonist in a work of literature. Minor characters are those that fill out the rest of the story
- What are the protagonist’s most distinctive traits, and what is most distinctive about his or her outlook and values? What motivates that character? Where is it about the character that creates internal and/or external conflicts?
Since the protagonist being the main character in a work of literature, I believe their most distinctive trait has to be their voice. They contribute to the mood and style of the work. I believe that what drives them is their motivation, whether it is a happy ending in a story or anything else. Internal conflict results from a conflict within the protagonist where an external may involve the antagonist.
- Which textual details and moments reveal most about this character? Which are most surprising or might complicate your interpretation of this character? How is your view of the character affected by what you don’t know about him or her?
Any actions or words said by the character reveal anything about themselves. Certain views or actions, or simply words not said complicate how a person interprets the character. Personally when not aware of certain traits about a character it leaves me blinded.
- What are the roles of other characters? Which, if any, functions as an antagonist? Which, if any, serves as a foil? Why and how so? How would the story as a whole (not just its action or plot) be different if any of these characters disappeared? What points might the author be raising or illustrating through each character?
The roles of the characters are like the minor characters, they fill out the story. Usually the character that is against the protagonist is the one that function as an antagonist. Foil is a character that helps by way of contrast to reveal the unique qualities of another (especially main) character. If any of the characters disappeared the story would not be what it is, no matter if they were minor or major characters. The author uses the characters to tell the story and to get their point out.
- Which of the characters, or which aspects of the characters, does the text encourage is to sympathize with or to admire? To view negatively? Why and how so?
The characters that the text encourages us to admire and even emulate the hero and heroine.
- Does your view of any character change over the course of the story, or do any of the characters themselves change because of the events in the story? If so, when, how, and why?
Yes, there has been a time when my view of the character has changed, and I also believe that the characters can change due to the event. However, everyone is entitled to their opinion upon that.
- Does characterization tend to be indirect or direct in the story? What kinds of information do and don’t we get about the characters, and how does the story tend to give us that information?
I believe that characterization can be both indirect and direct within text. The reader often retrieves a lot of information about the characters. It is often given at the beginning of the story in most cases, if not over the course of the text.