Final answer:
Character analysis in literature and film involves examining their actions, behaviors, and development to understand the themes and messages of the story. Characters can be dynamic and evolve, or static and remain unchanged. Their representation can teach moral lessons and reflect broader social issues, but it can also bear the risks of biased cultural portrayals.
Step-by-step explanation:
When examining a character in literature or film, we try to understand what the character does and what we can learn from their behavior and their response to situations. Characters in stories play crucial roles in advancing the plot and expressing the themes of the work. Often, these characters are shaped by their actions, which may reflect broader social issues or personal traits.
Characters can be classified as stereotypes or believable, static/flat (unchanging) or dynamic/round (evolving through the story). Aristotle believed that characters, especially those of noble birth, were important for teaching lessons to the audience. Their noble status emphasized the gravity of their actions and the consequences of their mistakes, serving as a stronger moral lesson. This approach to character development is meant to make characters' journeys more relatable and their experiences more impactful for the audience.
Reflecting on character behaviors and decisions can be a way of exploring different cultures, personal growth, and the complexities of human nature. For instance, discussing a character like Victor Frankenstein, who is ambitious and compulsive in his studies, can lead to conversations about the consequences of unchecked ambition and the pursuit of knowledge without considering ethical boundaries.
When characters appear to wear "masks" or veil their identities, it opens up avenues for discussing themes like identity, honesty, and deception. Meanwhile, character quirks, such as a nervous habit or an unusual hobby, can be symbolic of deeper aspects of their personality or the story's themes. Finally, when characters interact with one another, their dialogues, actions, and even physical appearances contribute to the audience's understanding of their personalities and the dynamics of their relationships.
The way characters are represented, especially those from cultures different from our own, has implications for how audiences perceive those cultures. Terms like ethnocentrism, primitivism, and orientalism describe different ways cultural representation can be biased or distorted in media, which can have significant consequences on audience perception and intercultural relations.