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verbal representation of a human being, the inner self that determines thought, speech, and behavior.
Character is the representation
of a person
in a narrative
or dramatic
work of art
such as a novel
, play
, or film
. Derived from the ancient Greek
word χαρακτήρ kharaktêr, the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the
Restoration, although it became widely used after the word was used in
Tom Jones
in 1749. From this, the sense of “a part played by an actor
“ developed. Character, particularly when enacted by an actor in the
theatre or
cinema , involves
“the illusion of being a human person “. Since the end of the 18th century, the phrase “
in character “ has been used to describe an effective
impersonation by an
actor. Since the 19th century, the art of creating characters, as practised by actors
or writers, has been called characterisation
. http:en.wikipedia.orgwikiCharacter
.
2.2.1 Types of Character
According to E.M. Foster in Roberts and Jacobs 1978, characters are divided into three types:
2.2.1.1 Round Character
Round character are usually the major figures in a story. They have many realistic traits and are relatively fully developed by the author. For this reason they are
often given names ‘hero’ or ‘heroine’. Since many major characters are anything but heroic, however, it is probably best to use the more descriptive term, which
have been introduced before, protagonist. The protagonist is central to the action,
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moves against an antagonist, and usually exhibits the human attributes. To the degree that round characters possess many individual and unpredictable human
traits; they may be considered as dynamic; that is, they demonstrate their capacity to change or to grow.
2.2.1.2 Flat Character
Flat characters are essentially undistinguishable from their group or class. Therefore, they are not individual, but representative. They are usually minor
characters, although not all minor characters are flat. They are mostly useful and structural in the stories. Usually they stay the same; being static, and not dynamic
like round characters. Thus, a flat character is built around “a single idea or quality” and it is represented in an outline and without much individualizing
detail, and so can be fairly adequately described in a single phase or sentence. A flat character is characterized by one or two traits.
2.2.1.3 Stock Character
Stock character is used to refer to characters that perform in these repeating situations. Obviously, names, ages, and sexes are often changed. These characters
are not necessarily flat, but they stay flat as long as they perform only their functions, exhibit conventional and unindividual characteristics, and then
disappear from the story and from our memory. When stock characters possess no attitudes except those to be expected from their class, they are often given the
label stereotype, because they all seem to be cast in the same mold. In other words, the stock character is stereotyped figure that has appeared in fiction that
his nature is immediately known.
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2.2.2 Definition of Characterization
