Character Types Lesson 01
Character Types Lesson 01
Overview
A character can either be…
Protagonist or Antagonist
Dynamic or Static
Round or Flat
Example
The boy in "The Boy Who Cried Wolf"
Cinderella in "Cinderella"
Example
The Wolf from "The Boy Who Cried Wolf"
Cinderella's wicked stepmother from "Cinderella"
Notice that Jenny didn't just change her shoes or something little?
She underwent a serious and important change in the course of the
story; therefore, she is a dynamic character.
Static Character
A character that does not change significantly.
Example
Mr. Hero was defending the streets of Urbanity City during
one of Despair-O's attacks. Despair-O built an army of robot
ninjas and was using them to steal money and valuables. Mr.
Hero fell for one of Despair-O's tricks and was captured;
however, he soon devised a clever escape trick, shut down
Despair-O's robot army, and captured the villain.
Did you notice that neither Mr. Hero nor Despair-O make any
significant character changes throughout the course of the
text? This makes them static characters.
Round Character
A well-developed, lifelike character with realistic emotions,
conflicting feelings, and multiple traits.
Example
Carrie doesn't know what to do. She thinks that her friend
Veronica may be getting abused. Carrie keeps finding large
bruises and marks on her legs and arms. When she tries to talk
to Veronica about this, Veronica covers the marks and tells Carrie
that she can’t talk about it. Carrie is concerned that if she doesn't
do anything, it might get worse, but she also doesn't want to do
anything to threaten her friendship with Veronica.
Example
Ricardo had an evil plan. First, he would rob the bank to get
money. Then he would buy weapons and raise and army.
Then he would kidnap the princess and tie her to some train
tracks. Lastly, he would twist the ends of his long mustache
between his thumb and forefinger while laughing.
Ricardo is a villain with little depth. We know that he is evil,
but we do not learn why. No internal struggle with his morality
is revealed; therefore, he is a flat character.
Review
• All characters are either dynamic or static, depending
on whether they make important changes.