People In Fiction Flashcards
A protagonist who is a non hero or the antithesis of a traditional hero; while the traditional hero may be dashing strong, brave, resourceful, or handsome, this one may be incompetent, unlucky, clumsy, dumb, ugly, or clownish
Antihero
The character against whom the protagonist struggles or contends
Antagonist
An original model or pattern from which other later copies are made, especially a character, an action, or situation that seems to represent common patterns of human life
Archetype
An antihero who is a romanticized but wicked character; conventionally, the figure is a young and attractive male with a bad reputation
Byronic hero
An author or poets use of of description, dialogue, dialect, and action to create in the reader an emotional or intellectual reaction to a character or to make the character more vivid and realistic
Characterization
Characterizes someone by stating facts about them
Direct characterization
One whose personality changes or evolves over the course of a narrative
Dynamic character
A struggle that occurs between a character and outside forces, such as another character or environment
External conflict
Character that is built around a single idea or quality
Flat character
The narrator speaks as “I” and is a character in the story who may or may not influence events within it
First person point of view
A character that serves b contrast to highlight or emphasize opposing traits in another character
Foil
Mental or emotional struggle in a character
Internal conflict
The psychological grounds for a character’s behavior
Motivation
The voice that speaks or tells a story
Narrator
The way a story gets told and who tells it; method of narration
Point of view
The main character of a work of fiction
Protagonist
Character that is complex in temperament and motivation
Round character
A simplified character who does not change or alter his or her personality over the course of a narrative
Static character
A character who is so ordinary or unoriginal that the character seems like an oversimplified representation of a type, gender, class, religious group, or occupation; also referred to as a stock character
Stereotype
When the narrator reports speech and action, but never comments in the thoughts of other characters
Third person objective
A story with a narrator who knows everything that needs to be known about the agents and events in the story and has access to the characters thoughts
Third person omniscient
Typically an admirable character who appears as the focus in a tragic play, but one who is undone by a tragic mistake, misconception, or flaw (hamartia)
Tragic hero
A narrator who describes events in the story, but seems to make obvious mistakes or misinterpretations that may be apparent to a careful reader
Unreliable narrator
A character in a play, novel, or the like, who constitutes an important evil agency in the plot
Villain
