How the author conveys (presents or establishes) a character

There are two basic methods 1. Telling: it involves direct intervention and commentary by the narrator. The narrator stops the narrative to comment on the character's personality, thoughts or actions. The narrator helps us to form an opinion about the character.

2. Showing: the narrator steps aside and allows the characters to reveal themselves through what they do (action) and say (dialogue)

The voice of the narrator is silent.

We, as readers, have to infer character from the evidence provided in the dialogue and action of the story.

The revelation of character is generally gradual.

We are going to look for information throughout the following elements.

a. Dialogue: What the character says can help us to understand basic elements of his personality. The relationship between characters. Information about his origin, education, occupation or social class.

We have to be careful about the information because some characters, as real people, don't say everything

they think and can create a false image of themselves.

b. Action: We can learn a lot about a character's emotions, attitudes and values by examining what he does in the course of the story.

To see the motives To see the underlying forces that make him or her behave the way he or she does.

c. Comparison with other characters It is the way a character behaves similar to (comparing) or different from (contrasting) the way other character act. To provide a contrasting behavior between protagonist and antagonist, or minor and major characters.

d. Setting The time and place (information about the characters) A particular historical time will give us information about the character's ideas and actions. The character's physical surrounding is important too in order to give an account of his personality and psychological characteristics. References to the social setting may also give us some helpful insight. Do the characters share or reject the values associated with their social background?

e. Names Occasionally the character's name may provide clues to his personality. f. Appearance

How a character looks gives information about his or her personality. Clothes: social and economic status. Questions to ask when analyzing character 1. Is he a major or a minor character? 2. Is he the protagonist / antagonist of the story? 3. Is he a round or a flat character? 4. Is he a dynamic or static? 5. Does the narrator reveal the character through showing or telling, or does he use both techniques? 6. What does the way the character speak (dialogue) reveal about his character? 7. What information does the way the character behave (action) provide? 8. Is he similar to or different from other characters in the story? 9. Has the setting shaped the character's personality? 10. Does the setting reflect his mood or emotional state? 11. Does the character's name have any importance, relevance or associations?

Narrators and point of view

The author creates a narrator. It is from the narrator's point of view that we see events unfold. Narrator a) a strong presence commenting and interpreting. b) almost invisible allowing the story to present itself. Narrators (two broad categories)

FIRST PERSON NARRATOR

THIRD PERSON NARRATOR OMNISCIENT LIMITED DRAMATIC OBJECTIVE

They refer to themselves as 'I' and 'we' they are directly involved in the story. The information the reader gets is LIMITED, BECAUSE we know just what the narrator knows, experiences, infers or has learned or known from others. As a consequence, it is a SUBJECTIVE NARRATOR. From the point of view of the narrator we are going to see characters and events. Therefore, we have to pay attention to the personality of the narrator. Questions? are they reliable? Do they have biases and prejudices that may influence how they tell the story? The fist person narrative is commonly associated with non-fictional literary forms such as biographies, memoirs. When used in fictional works it lends authenticity to the story. It is also perhaps the most effective form of storytelling for getting the reader intellectually and emotionally involved. THIRD PERSON NARRATORS

 Someone outside of the action. The use of 'he, 'she, and 'they' referring to a third person. It is like an observer. It is a witness of the events but plays no part in the events. A. OMNISCIENT THIRD PERSON NARRATOR It is a kind of God. He is all-knowing. He knows everything about the fictional world he has created. Characteristics He can read other character's thoughts. He is able to be in several places at one time. He knows what is going to happen. He knows how the characters will behave. He is free to tell us as much or as little as he wishes. a third person narrator who interrupts the narrative and speaks directly to the reader is called OBSTRUSIVE. He does that because he wants to summarize, philosophize, moralize or to guide the reader's interpretation of events. (very popular in XVIII and XIX) (non- obstrusive: the narrator doesn't address the reader directly.) B. LIMITED OMNISCIENT POINT OF VIEW The narrator chooses a character to tell the story from his point of view. We see the characters and events from his view point. He is the center of revelation. He is our eyes. The narrator uses a 'free indirect style' when he moves telling the story from the omniscient viewpoint to the central character. It is perhaps the most widely-used mode of narration in modern fiction.

DRAMATIC OR OBJECTIVE POINT OF VIEW It is like a camera (on and off) decision. The story seems to be told by no one. The narrator doesn't mediate between the story and the readers. He allows the story to present itself through setting, action an dialogue. The reader is never taken inside the character's minds. The reader must interpret and analyze.