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Character_Elements of Fiction

The document discusses the elements of character in short fiction, distinguishing between round/dynamic characters that evolve and flat/static characters that remain unchanged. It emphasizes the interrelation between character and plot, highlighting how external and internal conflicts shape characters. Additionally, it introduces different types of narrators and provides brief overviews of two short stories, 'The Flowers' by Alice Walker and 'Haunting Olivia' by Karen Russell, focusing on their themes and narrative styles.

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4 views

Character_Elements of Fiction

The document discusses the elements of character in short fiction, distinguishing between round/dynamic characters that evolve and flat/static characters that remain unchanged. It emphasizes the interrelation between character and plot, highlighting how external and internal conflicts shape characters. Additionally, it introduces different types of narrators and provides brief overviews of two short stories, 'The Flowers' by Alice Walker and 'Haunting Olivia' by Karen Russell, focusing on their themes and narrative styles.

Uploaded by

dgorden19
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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CHARACTER:

Elements of Fiction
in Works of Short
Fiction
EN 2203
Dr. Christie Collins
Character
A character is a person (or other human-like
entity) presented in a dramatic or narrative
work, and characterization is the process by
which a writer makes that character seem real
to the reader.

Round/Dynamic Characters: must grow, alter,


change internally by the end of the work. They
are more fully developed, complex, and life like.

Flat/Static Characters: do not change over the


course the work. They are more
stereotypical/only have 1-2 qualities.
Character
Our textbook reminds us that a “good writer
gives us the illusion that a character is real.”
We should feel we know them.

All of the elements of fiction are linked but


especially plot and character:
Anne Lamott says: “Plot should grow out of
character” … “That’s what plot is: what people
will up and do in spite of everything that tells
them they shouldn’t.”
“If stories were depopulated, the plots would
disappear because characters and plots are
interrelated…characters are influenced by
events just as events are shaped by characters”
Character
All round characters have external and internal
conflicts:
External: created by the world around them.
Internal: residing inside of them/what they
struggle with and/or want for their lives.
External and internal conflicts shape one
another. For example, a person’s problematic
home life (external conflict) shapes their
personal identity and their needs/wants (internal
conflict), but one family member’s personal
identity and needs and wants (internal conflict)
can also affect the family dynamic (external
conflict).
Narrator’s Likeability
McNally Defines Three Kinds of Narrators:
Likeable-Likeable: Readers like this narrator and would
also like this narrator if they were a real person. They
are flawed but in a way most readers can relate to.
Likeable-Unlikeable: Readers like this narrator but
would steer clear of them in real life, though there
must be something redemptive about the character in
order to keep the reader invested.
Unlikeable-Unlikeable: Readers don’t like this narrator
and wouldn't like him or her as a person. Hard for the
reader to be invested. This book probably wouldn’t get
published.
Relevant for all narrators, but especially true of 1st
person narrators: when the narrator is also a character.
“The Flowers”
(CBIL, pgs. 507-508)

Story by American writer


Alice Walker (b. 1944).

Walker was born


in Eatonton, Georgia.

Internationally celebrated
writer, poet, and activist.
She won the Pulitzer Prize
in Fiction in 1983 and the
National Book Award.

Genre: Literary Realism

Narrator: 3rd Person


Limited
Questions for “The Flowers”

Q1: What’s the Scope? A1 few hours - 1/2 day

How much time passes? A2: Overcoming the Monster, Voyage


and Return, Rebirth (Coming of Age)
Q2: Which of the 7 A3: Begins with Myop already
basic plots is this story outside innocently playing/exploring.

centered around? A4: External = happens upon the


corpse/see that the murder was
racial. Internal = How will she react
Q3: Explain “in the to this act of violence?
action/In Media Res” as
A5: Loss of innocence, sees the
it applies to this story. horrors of humanity, perhaps
understands race/racism for the first
Q4: Identify the external time. However, she decides to
combat violence with softness and
and internal conflicts. beauty.

Q5: How does Myop


change by the end?
“Haunting Olivia”
(Story Available on Canvas)

Story by American writer


Karen Russell (b. 1981).

Russell was born in Miami,


Florida.

She is the author of three


short story collections and
the novel Swamplandia!,
which was a finalist for the
Pulitzer Prize.

Genre: Magic Realism

Narrator: 1st Person


“Haunting Olivia”
Set in a coastal tourist town (perhaps a version of
Florida, the writer’s home state).

The two boys lost their sister, and their grief/guilt


informs their actions and motivations in this story.

Similar to the García Márquez story that we’ll read


in the Setting unit, the ocean is often associated
with a lot of myths and legends. It creates the
perfect backdrop for a magical encounter. The
reader is perhaps more likely to accept magical
encounters in or near the ocean.

You will analyze the characters in this story on


your own for this week’s assignment.

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