Stock characters are stereotypical fictional people that audiences recognize from frequent use in a particular literary tradition. Examples include absent-minded professors, con artists, and housewives. Stock characters help identify genres and subgenres and allow audiences to quickly understand a character's motivations. Their use saves authors time while moving the story along efficiently.

1. Stock Character
(With Literary Examples)

2. Stock character
A stock character is a stereotypical fictional person or type of person in a
work of art such as a novel, play, or a film whom audiences recognize from
frequent recurrences in a particular literary tradition.
 Examples:
• Absent-minded professor :An eccentric scientific genius who is so focused on his
work that he has shortfalls in other areas of life (remembering things, grooming).
• Con Artist: A person who tricks people out of money by gaining, and then betraying
their confidence.
• Housewife: A busy mother of the protagonist family, she takes care of the children
and does the housework. Her appearance ranges from homely to average.
• Antihero, Hero, Heroine, Mad scientist, Milkman, Nice guy, Pirate, Tragic hero,
villain etc.

3. The presence of a particular range of stock characters is a key component
of many genres, and they often help to identify a genre or subgenre.
Example: a story with a knight-errant and a witch is probably a fairy
tale or fantasy.
They are distinguished by their simplification and flatness.
 There are several purposes to using stock characters. Stock characters
are a time- and effort-saving shortcut for story creators, as authors can
populate their tale with existing well-known character types.
 Another benefit is that stock characters help to move the story along
more efficiently, by allowing the audience to already understand the
character and their motivations.