Character Analysis Essay (Page 3 of 4) in pdf

about them. Similarly, the word of a close friend or political manager may

be biased in favor of a particular character. You must always consider the

context and source of all dramatic remarks before you use them in your

analysis.

4. What the author says about them, speaking as storyteller or

observer. What the author says about a character is usually to be

accepted as truth. Naturally, authors must be accepted on matters of fact.

But when they interpret the actions and characteristics of their characters,

they themselves assume the critic’s role, and their opinions may be either

right or wrong. For this reason, authors frequently avoid interpretations

and devote their skill instead to arranging events and speeches so that

their conclusions are obvious to the reader.

Plan your character essay according to the steps outlined on the literary essay

worksheet. When you are ready to make your rough list of points that will

comprise the body of your essay, you have a number of ways in which to

organize them. The organization is designed to illustrate and prove your central

idea. Some possible methods are the following:

1. Organization around a central characteristic, like kindness, gentleness,

generosity, firmness, or resoluteness of will frustrated by inopportune

moments for action, resulting in despondency, doubt, and melancholy. A

body containing this sort of material would demonstrate how the literary

work brings out each of these qualities.

2. Organization around a development or change of character. Here you

would attempt to show the character traits that a character possesses at

the start of the work and then describe the changes or developments that

occur. Try to determine the author’s view on such changes; that is, is the

change genuine, or does the author establish hidden traits in the character

which are brought out as the story progresses?

3. Organization around central incidents that reveal primary

characteristics. Certain key incidents will stand out in a work, and you

might create an effective body by using three or four of these as guides for

your discussion, taking care to show in your topic sentences that your

purpose is to illuminate the character you have selected, not the incidents.

In other words, you would regard the incidents only as they bring out

truths about character. Naturally, with this arrangement, you would have to

show how the incidents bring out the characteristics and also how they

serve to explain other things the character might do.

Here is an example of a short character essay constructed according to the

previous guidelines. Read it and see if you can identify which one of the three

organizing principles (listed above) has been used.

The Character of Mathilde Loisel in Guy de Maupassant’s The

Necklace

Character Analysis Essay Page 3