In the lead up to creating my own characters for my final assignment, I have decided to have a look at some common character identities and methods of characterisation in media.
As always, I started by reading Abrams’ entry Characterisation in his Glossary of Literary Terms to help me understand how to build my characters. According to Abrams (1999, p. 32-33) characters are the representations of people (human, alien, flora or fauna – Alice in Wonderland proved even flowers can have a personality) in a text, and are “interpreted by the reader as being endowed with particular moral, intellectual, and emotional qualities” which form the basis of their character. The reader discovers these qualities by drawing inferences based on a character’s actions or dialogue.
Main characters, especially the primary protagonist and antagonist, are usually driven by a motive. It informs their personality, morals, choices, and desires, and must be taken into account by the author when writing their dialogue and actions.
This motive is usually informed by a major event in a character’s back-story – however, a character does not have to maintain a single motive throughout their arc. Sometimes a motive will be completely discarded by a character due to an event in their arc; other times, it will be overtaken or joined by other additional motives.
According to Abrams (1999, p. 33), characters can either remain “essentially stable… in outlook or disposition” throughout the entire text, or may instead progress through what is now commonly known as a “character arc”. This is when the character in question faces a series of trials and their very motive or personality is affected by it. The bare essentials of the character remain the same – they do not act in a manner which is entirely unexpected by the audience, a manner so out of character that the audience feels like they are reading about or watching an completely different person (hello Season Eight Daenerys). Their actions must be supported by previous character development. Otherwise, it’s not a clever twist introduced by the author – it’s just lazy writing. Oh look, Dany’s back.
Of course, characters don’t need to be created with a single motive or quality in mind – this results in a two dimensional character, who requires no analysis to be understood, and therefore is not particularly interesting to the audience. This option works well in genres like children’s stories and fairy tales, but is not nearly as effective in media created for those over the age of ten.
Three dimensional characters are much more interesting. They are presented with complex motives, are not easily defined as a hero, a villain, or a helper, and are capable of change while still staying true to their own personality and story.
At this point, I would like to introduce a character from one of my favourite shows as an example. Mainly because it gives me an excuse to re-watch Avatar: The Last Airbender while I do the ironing, but also because Zuko is a wonderful example of a three dimensional character.
His loyalties change completely throughout the series, and yet his primary motive remains exactly the same: he wants to earn honour, and protect and be loved by his family.
In the beginning of the first season of ATLA, Zuko appeared to fit perfectly into the ‘villain’ character archetype. As the prince of a genocidal nation, he hunts the Avatar (a twelve year old pacifist monk) across the world, viewing him as a threat which needs to be imprisoned or completely removed from the picture. He tells us early on that capturing the Avatar is the only way to regain his honour.
We later learn that the reason he is hunting the Avatar is to appease his father, and in his eyes, ‘regain’ his honour. Zuko had been banished from his own country for opposing a plan to sacrifice several hundred soldiers as a diversion, which would have guaranteed their deaths. He was forced to fight his father, who then burned the left side of his face and sent him on a mission to capture the Avatar – who had not been seen in the last 100 years. So you know. Obviously his dad really wanted him to come back.
We also find out that his mother murdered his grandfather to save his life, and has been missing ever since. Also, his sister is insane.
This revelation of his back-story lends him some sympathy, especially since he is 16 years old. He is eventually hunted by his own sister (another fantastic three dimensional character with some severe mental instability caused by an abusive childhood), and travels as a refugee with his uncle. During this time he sees the damage his country has done to others, meets soldiers and refugees, helps civilians, rescues his enemies, operates as a vigilante, and struggles to find emotional and spiritual balance.
He betrays the Avatar and his friends to go home, but eventually defects, tracks down the Avatar, and works to make amends and remove his family from power.
Zuko moves across Propp’s Seven Spheres of Action, acting first as the villain, and later as a hero (Barry 1995, p. 228). Although he changes sides in a global conflict, his motive for doing so is always tied to his love of and loyalty to his family, and his evolution is always in character – that is, all of his choices are dependent on an already established motive, which is effected by the obstacles in his path, and his interactions with other characters.
Zuko remains a generally gloomy figure, devoted to his family and friends, but throughout his character arc he gains emotional stability, maturity, and a clearer, more informed sense of right and wrong.
Zuko’s character arc serves as an excellent template for the correct way to write the evolution of a character. His character may be grounded in honour and family, but he learns to expand his definitions of both concepts, he listens to older and wiser characters, and it never feels as though his progression has been forced. Over three seasons, his motives and back-story are gradually revealed to the audience, making him a sympathetic and complicated character the audience begins to root for.
When I begin to write my stories for my last assignment, I think it is likely I will start off with two dimensional characters. I will have to work to expand upon their motives and solidify them as three dimensional, cross-archetype characters. I’m definitely a bit nervous about this as I have never written anything requiring comprehensive characterisation before, and as you may be able to tell from my blogging style, I am more comfortable with professional, academic writing than creative works. My current approach is to map out my character’s lives, and use their backgrounds to help me establish their motives and personalities. This way I have concrete character ideas to fall back on, to help inform my decisions and allow me to plot my characters actions appropriately.
I doubt I’ll ever live up to Zuko, but I might as well give it a go.
References:
Abrams, MH 1999, A Glossary of Literary Terms, 7th edn, Heinle & Heinle, Boston Massachusetts.
Barry, P 1995, Beginning Theory: An introduction to literary and cultural theory, 2nd edn, Manchester University Press, Manchester.
Giphy 2015, Prince Zuko Avatar GIF, Giphy, viewed 19 August 2019, <https://giphy.com/gifs/prince-zuko-agni-kai-avatar-gif-DnLY970dmEvqU>.
Giphy 2019, Season 7 Dragon GIF By Game Of Thrones, Giphy, viewed 20 August 2019, <https://giphy.com/gifs/pride-and-prejudice-5T52L981XDTq0>.
Giphy 2015, Taylor Swift GIF, Giphy, viewed 19 August 2019, <https://giphy.com/gifs/taylor-swift-mulan-basically-13cIaMunE7nvgI>.
Jixeryes 2017, Alice In Wonderland GIF, Tenor, viewed 19 August 2019, <https://tenor.com/view/alice-in-wonderland-wonderland-alice-gif-7492617>.
Joeygorla 2018, Zuko Never Happy GIF, Tenor, viewed 20 August 2019, <https://tenor.com/view/zuko-never-happy-im-never-happy-angry-gif-12009403>.
Samoanbiscuit 2014, That’s Rough Buddy – Zuko, viewed 20 August 2019, <https://imgur.com/gallery/X5tD7M5>.
My University Writing Journal 