Resource (Found Document)
Dec. 9th, 2007 10:39 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jheti
I was going through my filebox and located this. I don't know what its value is, but it's mildly entertaining. The form-letter quality and three-ring holes in it lead me to believe it came from composition class a few years ago.
Verbatim, albeit slightly LJ-fied, therefore espousal of a viewpoint herein does not necessarily reflect my own views. I didn't write it, I'm merely reproducing it, and, in some cases, mocking it. XD
Characterization: Representation of people in literature, including the inner self that controls thought, speech, and behavior. Some areas to consider:
1) Choice: We believe that characters make choices and are free to alter their behavior. We judge their choices by comparing them to "normal" behavior. (Polygamy as an example removed, because it was hilarious but unhelpful, unless you're attempting a rewrite of Leon Uris' The Hajj.) Note: do consider the culture of the author.
2) Completeness: The actions, speeches and behavior of a character are all part of a total "person". Use all of them as deliberate clues given by the author.
3) Major Traits: Look for labels that help you understand the "type" of character. Eg. lazy, ambitious, fearful, hotheaded, careful, fair, sneaky, a dreamer, etc.
In certain types of literature, certain traits are required. Detectives are strong and clever. Cowboys are tough, strong, and dedicated. To each other. Especially in Brokeback Mountain.
4) Appearance: the physical description of the character should be considered[aaah no comma!] but be sure to connect it to the inside qualities of the character. What would expensive designer clothes suggest about a businessman's inner qualities?
5) Action: The actions of a character need to be connected to their inner qualities also. What does it suggest when a man tells a crying woman that a certain room needs to be dusted? [Other than that he will never have sex with her ever again.]
6) Change and Development: Some characters remain the same over the length of the story. Others develop--one version of a trait evolves into a slightly different version, for instance, a bully child may grow up to be an authoritative boss. Chang in a character is one trait ending and something different appearing. A character that is judgmental may become accepting or tolerant.
Methods that Show Character: After many beatings, the long-dead, dessicated corpse of the horse parted its withered, decaying lips and whickered, "Show, Don't Tell!"
*Ahem.*
1) Comparison to "normal" behavior. The author expects the reader to compare automatically.
2) What characters say and think themselves. Consider whether a character really means a speech or if it is "spur of the moment". Consider also character's mood.
3) Actions are signs of character [again without the comma!] so think about what the actions suggest. If actions contradict what a character says, explore the contradiction for signs of weakness, hypocrisy, and internal conflict.
4) What other characters say about a certain character should be evaluated based on the type of person speaking, that is, the words of an enemy should not be believed. You can trust the words of an honest character. A close friend may be biased favorably.
5) What the author says about a character (as a storyteller or observer). Usually accept the author's words as true, but be alert for sarcasm or judgments.
Probability: The aforementioned character traits should have versimilitude--that is, they both "ring true" and resemble the actions of real people and are probable. Surprises and extremes do occur but they shouldn't be too exaggerated. Remember that probability will change dependent on setting. A story set in the future can have aliens and spaceships. A story set in a magical world can have talking rabbits.
Setting: The natural and manmade environments in literature. Objects, animals, vegetation, weather, clothing, furniture, etc. ad nauseam, are all part of setting.
Settings come in two types: natural and manufactured.
In a natural setting, nature is seen as alive and acting on purpose. A forest may have threatening trees or bushes that grab at characters. [Wow. Totally not my grammar kthx.] An ocean may almost try to drown characters.
In a manufactured setting, built things suggest the traits of their makers and/or owners. A mansion says much about the wealth and social status of its owner. What might peeling paint and shabby furniture in a mansion suggest?
Uses of Setting Elements:
1) To convey a message. Obstacles in The Scary Forest OF DOOM that a character triumphs over can show the character's strength and dedication.
2) To frame the story. A story can open and close in the same scene to wrap up the events.
3) To create an atmosphere or mood. If there is elaborate, detailed setting description, it may be trying to suggest gloom, danger, safety, oppression, etc.
Symbol: [teachers love this one, but really it's nothing more than the extension of European medieval allegory. Anyway.]
A noun or concept that stands for something else. That is, the item itself, such as a fork, has a surface meaning in the story itself. It may also suggest a deeper meaning. Say the fork was part of a sterling set that was a wedding gift, and that means it's a happy shiny fork of glee. [The original example was of wine being served at dinner and then dropped, and the shattered bottle suggests heartbreak and the dissolution of the relationship. Because literature is just like soap operas, only stuffier and infinitely more interminable.]
Universal Symbols: Some symbols are widely recognized. Myths and fables give us such ideas as "sour grapes", and the Biblical "apples = temptation" thing is basically a given. Symbols can carry additional meaning by their representation: a quiet lake, a stormy ocean, and a mud-puddle all have different "things to say" about a water symbol.
A story may also have its own symbols, which work only for that particular tale. For example, pink hair ribbons might stand for innocence.
Ladies and Gentlemen, the theory of good writing.
I have my own ideas about what I guess they'd call mise en scene, or something equally French and pretentious.
My ideas, let me show you them. Later. Unless I forget. XD
Verbatim, albeit slightly LJ-fied, therefore espousal of a viewpoint herein does not necessarily reflect my own views. I didn't write it, I'm merely reproducing it, and, in some cases, mocking it. XD
Characterization: Representation of people in literature, including the inner self that controls thought, speech, and behavior. Some areas to consider:
1) Choice: We believe that characters make choices and are free to alter their behavior. We judge their choices by comparing them to "normal" behavior. (Polygamy as an example removed, because it was hilarious but unhelpful, unless you're attempting a rewrite of Leon Uris' The Hajj.) Note: do consider the culture of the author.
2) Completeness: The actions, speeches and behavior of a character are all part of a total "person". Use all of them as deliberate clues given by the author.
3) Major Traits: Look for labels that help you understand the "type" of character. Eg. lazy, ambitious, fearful, hotheaded, careful, fair, sneaky, a dreamer, etc.
In certain types of literature, certain traits are required. Detectives are strong and clever. Cowboys are tough, strong, and dedicated. To each other. Especially in Brokeback Mountain.
4) Appearance: the physical description of the character should be considered[aaah no comma!] but be sure to connect it to the inside qualities of the character. What would expensive designer clothes suggest about a businessman's inner qualities?
5) Action: The actions of a character need to be connected to their inner qualities also. What does it suggest when a man tells a crying woman that a certain room needs to be dusted? [Other than that he will never have sex with her ever again.]
6) Change and Development: Some characters remain the same over the length of the story. Others develop--one version of a trait evolves into a slightly different version, for instance, a bully child may grow up to be an authoritative boss. Chang in a character is one trait ending and something different appearing. A character that is judgmental may become accepting or tolerant.
Methods that Show Character: After many beatings, the long-dead, dessicated corpse of the horse parted its withered, decaying lips and whickered, "Show, Don't Tell!"
*Ahem.*
1) Comparison to "normal" behavior. The author expects the reader to compare automatically.
2) What characters say and think themselves. Consider whether a character really means a speech or if it is "spur of the moment". Consider also character's mood.
3) Actions are signs of character [again without the comma!] so think about what the actions suggest. If actions contradict what a character says, explore the contradiction for signs of weakness, hypocrisy, and internal conflict.
4) What other characters say about a certain character should be evaluated based on the type of person speaking, that is, the words of an enemy should not be believed. You can trust the words of an honest character. A close friend may be biased favorably.
5) What the author says about a character (as a storyteller or observer). Usually accept the author's words as true, but be alert for sarcasm or judgments.
Probability: The aforementioned character traits should have versimilitude--that is, they both "ring true" and resemble the actions of real people and are probable. Surprises and extremes do occur but they shouldn't be too exaggerated. Remember that probability will change dependent on setting. A story set in the future can have aliens and spaceships. A story set in a magical world can have talking rabbits.
Setting: The natural and manmade environments in literature. Objects, animals, vegetation, weather, clothing, furniture, etc. ad nauseam, are all part of setting.
Settings come in two types: natural and manufactured.
In a natural setting, nature is seen as alive and acting on purpose. A forest may have threatening trees or bushes that grab at characters. [Wow. Totally not my grammar kthx.] An ocean may almost try to drown characters.
In a manufactured setting, built things suggest the traits of their makers and/or owners. A mansion says much about the wealth and social status of its owner. What might peeling paint and shabby furniture in a mansion suggest?
Uses of Setting Elements:
1) To convey a message. Obstacles in The Scary Forest OF DOOM that a character triumphs over can show the character's strength and dedication.
2) To frame the story. A story can open and close in the same scene to wrap up the events.
3) To create an atmosphere or mood. If there is elaborate, detailed setting description, it may be trying to suggest gloom, danger, safety, oppression, etc.
Symbol: [teachers love this one, but really it's nothing more than the extension of European medieval allegory. Anyway.]
A noun or concept that stands for something else. That is, the item itself, such as a fork, has a surface meaning in the story itself. It may also suggest a deeper meaning. Say the fork was part of a sterling set that was a wedding gift, and that means it's a happy shiny fork of glee. [The original example was of wine being served at dinner and then dropped, and the shattered bottle suggests heartbreak and the dissolution of the relationship. Because literature is just like soap operas, only stuffier and infinitely more interminable.]
Universal Symbols: Some symbols are widely recognized. Myths and fables give us such ideas as "sour grapes", and the Biblical "apples = temptation" thing is basically a given. Symbols can carry additional meaning by their representation: a quiet lake, a stormy ocean, and a mud-puddle all have different "things to say" about a water symbol.
A story may also have its own symbols, which work only for that particular tale. For example, pink hair ribbons might stand for innocence.
Ladies and Gentlemen, the theory of good writing.
I have my own ideas about what I guess they'd call mise en scene, or something equally French and pretentious.
My ideas, let me show you them. Later. Unless I forget. XD
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Date: 2007-12-11 05:28 am (UTC)