People in Fiction

Question 1

antagonist

Answer 1

A character or force in a work of literature that, by opposing the protagonist produces tension or conflict.

Question 2

antihero

Answer 2

a protagonist who lacks the attributes that make a heroic figure, as nobility of mind and spirit, a life or attitude marked by action or purpose, and the like.

Question 3

archetype

Answer 3

An abstract or ideal conception of a type; a perfectly typical example; an original model or form.

Question 4

Byronic hero

Answer 4

A kind of hero found in several of the works of Lord Byron. Like Byron himself, a Byronic hero is a melancholy and rebellious young man, distressed by a terrible wrong he committed in the past.

Question 5

characterization

Answer 5

Characterization is the process by which the writer reveals the personality of a character. Characterization can either be direct or indirect

Question 6

direct characterization

Answer 6

(Explicit Characterization) This kind of characterization takes a direct approach towards building the character. It uses another character, narrator or the protagonist himself to tell the readers or audience about the subject.

Question 7

dynamic character

Answer 7

a dynamic character is one whose personality changes or evolves over the course of a narrative or appears to have the capacity for such change.

Question 8

external conflict

Answer 8

struggle between a literary or dramatic character and an outside force such as nature or another character, which drives the dramatic action of the plot

Question 9

flat character

Answer 9

a simplified character who does not change or alter his or her personality over the course of a narrative, or one without extensive personality and characterization

Question 10

first person P.O.V.

Answer 10

A narrative told by a character involved in the story, using first-person pronouns such as I and we.

Question 11

foil

Answer 11

A character that serves by contrast to highlight or emphasize opposing traits in another character

Question 12

internal conflict

Answer 12

psychological struggle within the mind of a literary or dramatic character, the resolution of which creates the plot’s suspense

Question 13

motivation

Answer 13

The reason a character decides to do something

Question 14

narrator

Answer 14

The “voice” that speaks or tells a story

Can be 1st or 3rd person.

Question 15

P.O.V.

Answer 15

The way a story gets told and who tells it. It is the method of narration that determines the position, or angle of vision, from which the story unfolds. Point of view governs the reader’s access to the story.

Question 16

protagonist

Answer 16

The main character in a work, on whom the author focuses most of the narrative attention

Question 17

round character

Answer 17

A round character is depicted with such psychological depth and detail that he or she seems like a “real” person

Question 18

static character

Answer 18

A static character is a simplified character who does not change or alter his or her personality over the course of a narrative.

Question 19

stereotype

Answer 19

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

Question 20

third person objective

Answer 20

outside character tells the story without access to main character’s thought or feelings

Question 21

third person omniscient

Answer 21

outside character who knows all, including thoughts and feelings.

Question 22

tragic hero

Answer 22

The main character in a Greek or Roman tragedy. In contrast with the epic hero (who embodies the values of his culture and appears in an epic poem), the tragic hero is typically an admirable character who appears as the focus in a tragic play, but one who is undone by a hamartia–a tragic mistake, misconception, or flaw.

Question 23

unreliable narrator

Answer 23

narrator, whether in literature, film, or theatre, whose credibility has been seriously compromised.

Question 24

villain

Answer 24

in a film, novel, or play) a character whose evil actions or motives are important to the plot.