Theory of Character Review of Related Theories
The eighth method is thoughts. In this method, the author can give us direct knowledge of what a person is thinking about. In this respect, he is able to do what
we cannot do in real life. He can tell the readers what different people are thinking. The readers then are in a privileged position; they have, as it were, a secret listening
device plugged in to the inmost thoughts of a person in a novel. The last method is mannerisms. Through this method, the author can describe
a person’s mannerisms, habits, or idiosyncrasies which may also tell the readers something about his character.
Another theory is by Brockett in Benedetty, 1970: 129-130 as quoted in The Art of Work
that there are four levels of characterization. The first level is physical which is concerned only with such basic facts as sex, age, size, and color. The second
level is social, which includes “character’s economic status, profession or trade, religion, family relationship –all those factors place the character in his
environment”. The third level is psychological which reveals “character’s habitual responses, attitudes, desires, motivations, likes and dislikes –the inner workings of
the mind, both emotionally and intellectually, which precede action. The last level is moral
which explains that sometimes a moral decision causes a character to examine his own motives and values, in the process of which his true nature is revealed both
himself and to the audience. Some of the theories above will be useful to help the writer to identify and understanding characters’ attitude in the play and to do the
analysis. 17