Exactly how many individuals are you aware? We mean know ‘well’: their feelings, personality faculties, behavior patterns, etc . 100? A few hundred? If you should be not very sociable, your answer might be a couple of dozen, as an example. However , we’ll bet that you don’t realize exactly how many persons you really know well.

Wonder Woman, Harry Potter, Dorian Grey, Ophelia, Sponge Bob, Batman, and Mickey Mouse – we are able to continue this list forever, but you’ve probably got our message. Aren’t they individuals? Do you know how they look and how they act? Now, reconsider that thought about the amount of people you know.

You might tell these characters aren't real, but does it certainly matter? Needless to say, you can’t communicate or interact with them. On the other hand, it is possible to share their beliefs and feelings, be worried about their fate, and learn important lessons from them.

We rely on analysis when we desire to learn more about well known heroes and heroines. Every thing is much easier if we have been interested in analyzing. If you are maybe not lucky enough, a strict instructor will require a character analysis essay concerning the hero who doesn’t awake any warm feelings in your soul. This is a common assignment for students who study literature, fine arts, and psychology. Let’s work out how to write a character analysis essay precisely.

Character Analysis Essay, Step 1: Identify Character Type

Our minds are full of stereotypes and stereotypical characters. You are able to often hear phrases like “he is just a typical romantic” or “she is a typical rebel. ” Every bit of fiction is somehow centered on real life. The reality is the mother of any fantasy world. That’s why our stereotypes and evaluation reflect in literature and movies.

Whenever we meet a fresh person (let’s call her Pam), we automatically make an effort to identify her, define her “type”: party girl, housewife, romantic, princess, etc . Sure, such evaluation is biased and weak, but it’s only step one.

The exact same applies to fictional characters: to start with, you need to spot character type. Check out our guide on 10 kinds of fictional characters!

1. Protagonist

A protagonist is really a hero who stands at the epicenter of the novel or movie: Peter Pan, Frankenstein, Faust, and so on As a rule, character analysis essays about them are frequently assigned by instructors.

Frequently, it is a good and amiable hero however, not necessarily. Like Macbeth may be the protagonist of the Shakespearean play, but this fact doesn’t make him a good person, right. There is certainly one secret: as you see, all names of protagonists mentioned previously are at once the titles of books. If the character’s name is a title, he or she is more often than not a protagonist. Of course, exceptions exist (e. g. Coco in the animated cartoon “Coco” isn't the protagonist but his great-grandmother), so be attentive.

2. Antagonist

The pretty Greek word “ἀνταγωνιστής” (antagonist) could be the antonym of the word protagonist. Consequently, the antagonist is really a hero who stands contrary to the protagonist. By analogy with the previous type, antagonists aren't always bad. Still, probably the most famous of these are villainous: Lord Voldemort, Maleficent (the original version, not the main one portrayed by Angeline Jolie), Captain Hook, etc .

ATTENTION! An antagonist is not always a concrete person. Generally, it can be whatever spoils the protagonist’s life: forces of nature, fate, society, machine, and even animal.

3. Dynamic

Changes are natural. Our life is not stable, so the characters that evolve throughout the story seem more real. They’re called “dynamic characters. ” A protagonist should always be described as a dynamic character, as the main hero who doesn’t change at all is not interesting and flat. Usually, major characters will also be dynamic; they might evolve combined with protagonist. Whenever you write a character analysis essay about dynamic character, make sure that you’ve described all stages of his or her evolution/degradation.

The classic exemplory case of dynamic character is Rodion Raskolnikov in the novel “Crime and Punishment” by Fyodor Dostoevsky. He’s got a long way to go: from the murder and putting up with to repentance. Another exemplory case of dynamic character is Dorian Gray in the novel “The Picture of Dorian Gray” by Oscar Wilde. In that case, the hero undergoes degradation. At the start of the story, he's a naïve and young boy. In the long run, Dorian becomes a murderer and libertine (sorry for spoilers).

4. Static

Static characters will also be called unchanging. As a rule, they have been minor characters who connect to the protagonist or major heroes to highlight their qualities or actions. Unchanging characters aren't supposed to be protagonists, as their inner world is of no interest for readers. Static heroes are typical for folklore and fairytales where they may be protagonists. Such literature is straightforward and not directed at deep analysis but at homily or entertainment.

A good exemplory instance of a static character could be the White Rabbit in the book “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” published by Lewis Carroll. He is always the same: fussy, nervous, and cowardly.

5. Major

There's always one protagonist in any story, but they might be surrounded by other major characters. Surprisingly, nearly all antagonists are major characters, as they usually appear on the screen or on the pages of the book getting together with the protagonist. Every major character could have his or her plot line that intertwines with the type of the protagonist. When the protagonist has a couple of friends, you will be sure that they're major characters, like Hermione and Ron in “Harry Potter” by J. K. Rowling.

6. Minor

Actually, stories without minor characters exist. These character types are not necessary, especially when it comes to stories about lonely journeys or self-discovery. But they enhance the development of complex stories, though they're normally static. They also might contrast with major characters to underscore their positive traits (in case the minor one is a villainous hero). Normally, you pick two or even three minor characters to write a character analysis essay therefore heroes aren't portrayed at length.

Cases of minor characters that you could easily identify are sidekicks of antagonists: hyenas in “The Lion King, ” Harley Quinn in comics about Batman and Joker, or the parrot Iago in “Aladdin. ”

7. Round

Needless to say, we don’t mean their geometric shape. You must concur that would be weird. Round characters are well-developed life-like heroes. They are multi-layered, so don’t expect that you’ll comprehend their some ideas and thoughts at once. Such heroes are interesting for readers, as it’s not necessarily easy to predict their actions. In top quality stories, all protagonists alongside major characters should be round. Sure, that doesn’t connect with children’s literature where the characters could be simply defined as bad and good ones.

An excellent example of the round character is Nora Helmer in “A Doll’s House” by Henrik Ibsen. At first sight, she is a fairly small-minded housewife who can’t even raise her children on her own. Later, we discover that Nora is not that simple. We note that she is a hard-working, caring, and strong woman who's a victim of circumstance and gender stereotypes.

8. Flat

The inner world of such characters is really as plain as day. Generally, they have only 1 major quality that determines all their actions and beliefs. If the primary hero of the book is flat, there are two options: it’s either a bad book or perhaps a fairy tale. Flat characters lack depth because they're one-dimensional, and you may see them only in one perspective. Such type is good for children’s literature where every character isn't a personality but a generalized idea.

Just about all villainous characters in fairy tales are flat: Ursula in “The Little Mermaid, ” the Evil Queen in “Snow White, ” and The Shadow Man in “The Princess and the Frog. ” They've been bad as they are bad, and that’s every one of the story.

9. Stereotypical

You are able to know every thing about a stereotypical character from the first sight. Their actions and thoughts are based on their appearance, job, gender, or social role. For example , a stereotypical villain of modern pop-culture is obviously associated with dark colors and a good sense of humor. A stereotypical crazy scientist needs to wear a white lab coat, speak indistinctly, and it has a messy hairstyle. You will find no stereotypical characters in real life, though all of us want to label everybody else with concepts like “macho man, ” “princess, ” “bully, ” “rebel, ” and so on.

Scriptwriters generally use stereotypical characters in teen movies where everything must be simple and understandable. Any movie about school life has such heroes: captain of the football team, cheerleader, nerd, outcast, the queen of the school, and so forth We don’t recommend you to pick these characters for the character analysis essay as there is actually nothing to publish about.

10. Foil

A foil character contrasts with the major character. The only real goal of such characters is to highlight and underscore some quality of the protagonist. At exactly the same time, they are maybe not antagonists. They don’t fight major characters: they are just different rather than necessarily bad. As a rule, a foil charactercan be considered because the protagonist’s “alter ego” or embodiment of his or her hidden side.

In the novel “Pride and Prejudice” by Jane Austen, all Elizabeth’s sisters are her foils: Jane’s gentle nature contrasts with Lizzy’s ironical manners; Mary’s obsession with books contrasts with Elizabeth’s capability to judge things independently; Lydia’s carelessness and silliness contrasts with the wisdom and logical reasoning of her elder sister.

For the favorite readers, we’ve created a few axioms that will help you to recognize character types:

• If your character is a protagonist, he or she is also dynamic, major, and round (as a rule);
• If your character is flat, he or she is also minor, or stereotypical (as a rule);
• If your character is an antagonist, he or she is also a foil (as a rule).

As you see, there are always exceptions, so be accurate and attentive while distinguishing your character’s type.

Finally, you have sufficient information about every character type. Still, pinpointing the type is merely the first stage in character analysis essay writing. Let’s take a closer look at two other stages of analysis and create a simple character analysis essay outline!

Character Analysis Essay, Step 2: Describe the Character

Develop that the initial step won’t be difficult for you. Describing character can be a whole lot more complex, though you’ll handle it quickly using our outline! Keep in mind that you can offer an excellent character analysis essay only if you’ve read the book or watched the movie! And don’t forget to take notes so that you can include all detail in your sample. Follow this character analysis essay outline to make sure that you’ve depicted your character precisely.

Character Analysis Essay Outline:

1. Name, book/movie, author/film director/ctor.
2. Character type/types (one character might represent several identity).
3. Appearance: face, stature, sight, cloth, skin, walk, posture, voice, manners.
4. Major personality characteristics: principles, some ideas, attitude, beliefs.
5. Changes throughout the story (if dynamic): differences before, during, and after the turning point, motivation, speed (changes slowly or suddenly), visibility (changes demonstrably or discreetly), how the attitude of other characters changes.
6. Symbolic meaning.
7. Historical relevance.
8. Portrayal in other pieces of art.

You’ve done all of it, right? Let’s move on to another and final stage of our character analysis essay writing!

Character Analysis Essay, Step 3: Conflict

A conflict isn't necessarily something huge like war, murder, divorce, or betrayal. A hard choice, bet, or misunderstanding are also conflicts that may reveal the hidden character characteristics or motivate the hero to change his / her views, behavior, or attitude.

All possible conflicts are of two types: external or internal. External conflicts happen “outside” the character’s inner world. The type can stand against yet another character or group of characters, whims of fate, natural forces, wildlife, artificial intellect, etc . Internal conflicts are often focused on the ethical dilemma that the type needs to solve. Such conflicts are possible only if the type is round and dynamic.

Defining conflict could be difficult particularly if there are several of them. But this stage is the most crucial for your character analysis essay as it reveals the meaning of the hero for the plot.

Character Analysis Essay Structure

After we’ve identified all nuances related to character types and steps of writing a character analysis essay, it's now the best moment to share with a few words about its structure.

INTRODUCTION

As any other essay, you’d start your character analysis essay with a catchy and relevant introduction. Don’t forget to compose an interesting hook and exhaustive thesis statement. Include general information about the smoothness: name, author, book/movie title, character type.

Main Body

This part contains two main parts. Firstly, you describe the character in details in line with the character analysis essay outline provided above. Then, define and analyze the conflict/conflicts in relation to the hero. Keep in mind that you should divide the whole text into paragraphs to improve the readability of one's essay. Incorporate a topic sentence and an item of evidence in each section.

Conclusion

Restate each section in your final paragraph. Don’t copy your thesis statement word-for-word. Use paraphrasing in order to avoid self-plagiarism. Compose a solid concluding statement on your character.

Now, our guide on how to write a character analysis essay is completed! Such assignments are far more interesting and helpful than any other ones. When you learn to analyze fictional characters, additionally you develop your skills of understanding people around you. Take a closer look at your friends! Maybe, you’ll notice a real princess or knight among them. 

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