English Language Arts presentation on types of characters and conflict found in literature.

1. English ~ 9

2.  A CHARACTER is the leading figure(s) of a story. In a short
story or modern play, there are typically only a few characters.
 Authors call upon several methods to help the reader get a
better picture of that character, such as:
 PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION
 The CHARACTER’s WORDS
 The CHARACTER’s ACTIONS
 The CHARACTER’s THOUGHTS
 OTHER CHARACTERS’ ACTIONS / SPEECH / THOUGHTS ABOUT
the CHARACTER

3.  PROTAGONIST: The central character of a story. He
or she is the hero, villain, or victim around which the
story is based.
 Ideally this is the character in the story with whom the reader
sympathizes or identifies with.
 ANTAGONIST: The character or force that acts
against the protagonist and tries to prevent him or
her from achieving his or her goals or objectives.
 Again, this character or force may be good or bad, so long as
he, she, or it opposes the main character.

4.  FLAT – Characterized by one or two traits. Usually the
reader only sees one side of this character. He or she
can be summed up in one sentence.
 ROUND – A complex and many-sided character.
Touches life in many aspects. A fully-developed
character, set with often ironic or antagonistic
internal values or conflicts.

5.  STATIC – A character who is the same sort of person at
the end of the story as she was at the beginning. This
character DOES NOT change.
 DYNAMIC – A developing character. He or she undergoes
a significant, lasting, permanent change in some aspect of
his or her personality or outlook.
 The change must be:
1)Possible for the character;
2)The result of sufficient motivation; and
3)Given sufficient time.

6.  NOTE: a character may be FLAT or ROUND, and
STATIC or DYNAMIC. Each pairing represents
opposites on a continuum.
STATIC
FLAT
ROUND
DYNAMIC

7.  Writers present their characters in two ways:
DIRECT PRESENTATION / “TELLING” – a direct statement
as to what the character is like given by the author, the
character him or herself, or another character.
INDIRECT PRESENTATION / “SHOWING” – a statement
about the character, his words or actions, from which we
infer what he or she is like.
 While a good writer will use both manners of presentation to
develop a character, it is important to note that Indirect
Presentation is a much for engaging and powerful way of
presenting character, and should be more heavily relied on.

8.  We learn about characters in six ways:
 By the author’s direct statement (DIRECT)
 By what other characters say and think about him or her
(DIRECT)
 By what he or she says (INDIRECT)
 By what he or she does (INDIRECT)
 By what he or she thinks (INDIRECT)
 By a character foil (a character who makes another
character seem better or worse by contrast; INDIRECT).

9. ENGLISH ~ 9

10. CONFLICT: The basis of any
story. It is the OPPOSITION
that exists between two or
more “forces,” whether the
story is serious or
humorous.
 A problem or struggle that
triggers the action (plot) of
a story.

11. There are two basic types of conflict.
 EXTERNAL – conflict that generally can be seen
as it is occurring; occurs between two or more
individuals.
 INTERNAL – conflict that cannot be seen; occurs
within an individual.

12. There are three types of External Conflict:
 CHARACTER VERSUS CHARACTER – the most
common type of conflict. The conflict can be physical,
psychological, or emotional.

13.  CHARACTER VERSUS SOCIETY in which a citizen is
fighting against a societal problem, such as
homelessness, crime, etc.

14. CHARACTER VERSUS SOCIETY
 The values and customs of the majority are being
challenged by a character. As a result of his
convictions, and the overwhelming odds against him
or her, the character may succumb to an untimely
end.
 On the other hand, the character may bring others
around to his or her way of thinking.

15. CHARACTER VERSUS ENVIRONMENT (natural or
supernatural) – in this conflict, a person is opposed
by any of the forces of nature or the supernatural in
an attempt to survive.
 Examples include: a man lost at sea, an invasion of
killer ants, a girl lost in the north, etc.
Strictly speaking the environment
is anything outside of the
protagonist that is not represented
by another character.

16. On the one hand, Character versus Environment, can be
used to express the insignificance of a single human
being…
 On the other hand, it tests the limits of a person’s
strength and will to live, and may thus reveal the
significance of a single human being

17. INTERNAL CONFLICT is restricted to a person struggling
with him or herself, or his or her conscience.
CHARACTER VERSUS SELF :
 This conflict exists within the character’s mind;
 Examples include: Should I steal from this store? Should I
turn in my best friend who has committed a crime?

18. INTERNAL CONFLICT
 This is a good test of a character’s values and will.
 Does he or she give into temptation? Or rise above it?
 Does he or she demand the most from him or herself?
Or, does he or she settle for something less?
 Does he even bother to struggle?
 The internal conflicts of a character and how they are
resolved are good clues to the character’s strength of
will.

19. You thoughts…?
“Did you know that the first Matrix was designed to be a perfect
human world? Where none suffered, where everyone would
be happy.
It was a disaster. No one would accept the
program. Entire crops were lost. Some
believed we lacked the programming
language to describe your perfect world. But
I believe that, as a species, human beings
define their reality through suffering and
misery. The perfect world was a dream that
your primitive cerebrum kept trying to wake
up from. Which is why the Matrix was
redesigned to this: the peak of your
civilization.”

20.  Often, most, if not all types of conflict appear in a
short story.
 You will be asked to indentify what types of
conflict are present in a story, as well as discuss
what these conflicts reveal about various
characters, plots, values and themes.
 Further, being able to identify the MAIN
conflict is often key.