This document defines and provides examples of different types of characters that can appear in stories. It discusses major/main characters who are central to the plot, minor characters who help advance the story, static characters who don't change, round characters who develop over the course of a story, flat characters who have only one or two traits, stock/stereotype characters that represent common tropes, symbolic characters with deeper meaning, protagonists as the hero/leading character, and antagonists as the villain who opposes the protagonist. It also describes direct and indirect characterization techniques authors use to portray characters' personalities.

1. TYPES OF CHARACTERS
In stories

2. MAJOR/MAIN CHARACTERS
 Major/Main characters are vital to the development of the story.
They are the central characters and are necessary for the
exposition, climax, and resolution of the story (and everything in
between).
 They are also known as DYNAMIC CHARACTERS!
 Example: Mario!

3. MINOR CHARACTERS
Minor Characters complement the major
characters, help move the main events forward.
Example: Princess Peach andToad.

4. STATIC CHARACTERS
 Static characters are characters who don’t change during the story.They usually
stay the same during the whole novel/play/book/movie.
 Things that happen in the story do not change their ideas or experiences.
 The author does not give many chances for the reader to find out more details
about Static characters, as they stay very similar during the whole story and there
are few details about them.
Example: Bellatrix Lestrange in Harry Potter stays a consistent bad character in the
books.

5. ROUND CHARACTERS
 Round characters have various traits and characteristics.
 A round character can change or grow during the storyline.
 Readers see more than one side of a round character.
 Writers create round characters to be complete: both mentally and physically.
Example: Harry Potter!We see many different sides of Harry during the whole Harry
Potter series.

6. FLAT CHARACTERS
 A flat character is a minor character who is not fully described.
 The author usually gives a flat character one or two characteristics.
 Flat characters are not always a part of the main story, they help more certain
parts of the story along.
 Flat characters have very common characteristics that make them easily
noticeable.
Example:The caretaker in Harry Potter, Mr. Filch. He always wanted to catch
students breaking the rules!

7. STOCK/STEREOTYPE CHARACTERS
 A stock character is a flat character that represents a stereotypical personality.
 These characters are very easy to identify because many stories use the same
stock characters:
 The evil queen, the nerd, the sports fan/jock, etc
Example: Bowser in Super Mario, he’s always a bad guy because he NEVER
changes! He always kidnaps the Princess and fights with Mario.

8. SYMBOLIC CHARACTERS
Symbolic Characters are any character whose very
existence represents some major idea or aspect of
society.They have a bigger meaning than just being a
part of the story.

9. PROTAGONIST
 The Protagonist is the leading or MAIN character in the story/book/play/movie.
 They’re the main figure in the story.
 As a reader, you should support this main character, feel sympathy for them, and
want them to succeed.
Example: Harry Potter, Mario, Luke Skywalker (StarWars)
Can you think of any more examples?

10. ANTAGONIST
 The antagonist is the character that struggles with, competes with, or fights with
the progonist.
 They are the anti-hero, or the villain in the story.
Examples:Voldemort (Harry Potter), Bowser (Mario), DarthVader (StarWars)
Can you think of any more examples?

11. CHARACTERIZATION
How does an author present their characters?

12. DIRECT CHARACTERIZATION
 Direct Characterization tells the audience what the personality of the
character is.
 Example: “The patient boy and quiet girl were both well mannered and did
not disobey their mother.”
 Explanation:The author is directly telling the audience the personality of
these two children.The boy is “patient” and the girl is “quiet.”

13. INDIRECT CHARACTERIZATION
 Indirect Characterization shows things that reveal the personality of
a character.There are five different methods of indirect
characterization:
 SPEECH –What does the character say? How do they speak?
 THOUGHTS –What is revealed through the character’s private thoughts
and feelings?
 EFFECTS ON OTHER CHARACTERS - What is revealed through the
character’s effect on other people? How do other characters feel or
behave in reaction to the character?
 ACTIONS – How does the character act towards others? How do they
behave?
 LOOKS –What does the character look like? How do they dress?

14. HOWWOULDYOU CHARACTERIZETHESE?

15. EXAMPLES…
Sweet girl.
Loves the Earth – friendly and nice
Looks happy – big smile
Scary man? Monster?
Open smile, no teeth in
his mouth.
Maybe he is poor?

16. IF I SAID…
She…
 She likes playing with fire.
 She yelled and screamed at her little
brother.
 When she was alone, she cut the
heads off her little sister’s dolls.
 Maybe she isn’t so sweet, nice, or
friendly.
He…
 He likes feeding birds outside.
 He helped a bird that was stuck in a
garbage can
 When he was alone, he wished for a
new pair of shoes.
 Maybe he isn’t so bad or scary.

17. YOU CAN’T ALWAYS JUDGE A
BOOK BY IT’S COVER
Proverb

18. SOURCES…
 https://www.sites.google.com/site/essafterschooltutoring/home/literature/charac
ter/types-of-characters
 https://www.slideshare.net/kimberlyn7/types-of-characters-11342419
 Google Images