Directions: You are required to choose a character(s) from Things Fall Apart, Oedipus Rex, Genesis, Job, “The Headstrong Historian,” “The Shivering” or another approved text and write a 4-5-page character analysis essay.
Due Dates and Requirements for Character Analysis Essay
Topic & Thesis Statement due on or before November 15th at 11:59 p.m. (upload to Canvas)
Final Draft Due: December 1st at the beginning of class
Length: 4-5 pages
Support: Essay must include an adequate number of quotes/references to the text
Format: Typed, 12-point Times New Roman, MLA style, double-spaced throughout with one-inch margins on each page. No extra spaces after title or between paragraphs.
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Overview: A character study helps demonstrate the relationship (or link) between a significant character and a major theme in the work. “Character” in literature is the author’s creation, through the medium of words, of a personality who takes on actions, thoughts, expressions, and attitudes unique and appropriate to that personality and consistent with it. In studying a literary character, you should try to determine the character’s outstanding (character) traits. A trait is a quality of mind or habitual mode of behavior, but often a trait is a person’s primary distinguishing characteristic.
How is character disclosed in fiction?
Actions: what characters do; how they behave
Descriptions, both personal and environmental
Character statements/thoughts
Statements by other characters (what other characters say about him/her)
The author’s attitude toward the character: (statements by the author speaking as storyteller/narrator/observer) and the ultimate fate of the character (succeeds or fails, etc.)
Thesis Statement: The paper must have a clear, easy to identify thesis that states a position regarding the significance of the character’s development/view in relationship to the theme of the novel or another significant point. In other words, your thesis must provide an opinion or claim that relates the character traits to the theme of the text or explains the character’s significance to the text and/or theme, or demonstrates the character’s significance in other ways (the thesis may demonstrate how the character is a tragic hero, explain the character’s downfall, or contrast that character with another character or “figure” (e.g. how another character demonstrates a type of figure such as a great leader, foil, villain, etc.)
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Additional Guidelines: Mainly, the paper should perform close readings of the text(s) and include citations and quotes from those texts. Except for quotes from the primary text, secondary sources are not required.
However, if you incorporate secondary sources, do not use more than two—do not use SparkNotes or Wikipedia as sources. Any sources MUST come from reliable academic journals and books or government or organizations that are peer-reviewed; you may not use non-academic internet web sites as sources (non-academic sites frequently end in .net .com).
Refer to syllabus for policy on academic honesty and cite all sources/quotes responsibly
Essays that are found to use/borrow/lift any words/ideas that are not your own will receive a grade of zero (0)
MLA format and documentation will be reviewed in class (see links on this document)
Review the following links for MLA format:
https://style.mla.org/formatting-papers/
https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_in_text_citations_the_basics.html
Additional Tips/Steps for Developing the Essay:
Choose a character or choose two characters for a comparative approach.
With that character (or characters) in mind, develop an assessment of him or her by identifying main qualities or characteristics. Choosing adjectives is often helpful (e.g. Desdemona is loyal, naïve, and submissive).
After choosing a character(s) and making an assessment, write your thesis statement by comparing your assessment (adjectives) with a main point, which will by your thesis. .
Suggestions: trace the development or growth of a character, 2) describe an author’s attitude toward a central character, 3) explain a character’s behavior, or 4) declare the flaw(s) in a character that lead(s) to the protagonist’s downfall.
SUGGESTED SPECIFIC STEPS: DEVELOPING YOUR ESSAY
Choose a character and either:
Consider two to three significant adjectives that describe a character and analyze those qualities in regard to one of the above situations (e.g. his growth, author’s attitude toward him, etc.) OR choose one significant characteristic and demonstrate how that quality parallels particular events, symbols, or objects in the narrative. (e.g. a character’s single-minded pursuit of X, causes him to do A, B, and C.)
Chart a character’s growth or change. Discuss the traits at the beginning of the narrative, and then analyze the changes or developments.
Organize your essay around central actions, objects (symbols), or quotations that reveal primary characteristics. Demonstrate how such actions, objects, etc. serve as signposts or guides to understanding the character or underscoring significant traits.
Chart the development of flat characters (characters who do not grow or change). Your thesis will offer an explanation for their lack of growth: the significance of these shortcomings as they relate to the author’s main idea.
Compose a working thesis based on one of the above directives. For a simple and straightforward thesis, you might begin in one of the following ways. For instance, compose a thesis by summarizing your view of the character in one or two sentences. For example, your thesis might begin by identifying your character (X) and listing three significant character traits. The thesis then can be stated as:
Character X is ______ , _______, and __________. (list three traits)
You would then connect those traits to your overall point: the significance of those traits to the theme or a major idea connected to the text. Some alternatives to simply stating a list of character traits may be to chart or explain those traits in various ways, including the following examples:
Although X is_____________, he/she is also ___________ and _________.
X develops from ___________ and _____________ to a person who is _________
The growth/development of X is represented by ______, _______, and _____.
Using your statement about the character as your thesis, write a 4-5 paragraph essay in which you have (1) a well-developed introduction (4-5 sentences, with the last sentence in the introduction as your thesis), (2) 2-3 body paragraphs which develop each characteristic or point individually, drawing support from the text and (3) a conclusion which unifies the two to three qualities and reiterates your thesis.
Look for examples from your text which support your characterization. Specifically, find character action(s), symbols, and quotes from the text that support and/or illustrate your thesis statement and the specific character traits (this is what is meant by documentation).
In your conclusion, show how the traits are related to the work as a whole. If the person suffers, does this misfortune make him or her seem especially worthy? Or does it illustrate the author’s general view of human life? Or does it support a culture’s view of life?
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