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September 28, 2005
What's up with characters?
Roberts, Writing about Literature (Ch 3) -- American Literature, 1800-1915 (EL 266)
"Appearance and environment reveal much about a character's social and economic status, and they also tell us about character traits" (66).
This was a nice break from the Scarlet Letter to discuss the variety of characters that exist. I love when an author does not describe the character, but describes their world. I feel that I have a better understanding of a character when I read about their family, career, childhood, etc. This is parallel to real life. I meet a person, and immediately see/hear what they want me to see/hear. I feel like I reach a new level of understanding if I speak to their family members or something similar. I keep thinking of Amanda in "The Glass Menagerie" for this segment on characters. As a reader, I grew to know much more about her internal thought processes when the narrator explained how her family structure was esablished. Just some thoughts!
Posted by MeredithHarber at September 28, 2005 03:18 PM
Comments
Instead of learning about a character through family, I enjoy receiving the character traits through dialog. Long paragraphs of pure character description, yet one's actions and language can convey a lot. However, you're right- learning about the family means also learning about the character. Aren't we all a little like our moms, dads, and friends?
Posted by: Vanessa at September 28, 2005 04:42 PM