Unit 2: Character

Question 1

anthropomorphism

Answer 1

an animal that takes on human characteristics (walking, talking, etc.)

Question 2

characterization

Answer 2

various means by which an author describes and develops the characters in a literary work

direct: narrator’s description; I
indirect: characters’ actions, dialogue, other characters’ comments about them

Question 3

stream of consciousness

Answer 3

a particular type of interior monologue; it is an attempt to represent the inner workings of a character’s mind, to re-create the continuous, chaotic flow of half-formed and discontinuous thoughts, memories, sense impressions, random associations, images, feelings, and reflections

Question 4

dialogue

Answer 4

conversation between two or more characters in a literary work

Question 5

antihero

Answer 5

a protagonist in a modern work who does not exhibit the qualities of the traditional hero

Question 6

catharsis

Answer 6

the emotional effect a tragic drama has on its audience; a “cleansing”; Aristotle said tragedy provided the audience with the opportunity to purge the emotions of pity and fear

Question 7

bildungsroman

Answer 7

a novel that recounts the development (psychological and sometimes spiritual) of an individual from childhood to maturity, to the point at which the protagonist recognizes his or her place and role in the world

Question 8

aside

Answer 8

in drama, a convention by which actors speak briefly to the audience, supposedly without being heard by the other actors on stage

Question 9

narrator

Answer 9

a speaker through whom an author presents a narrative, often but not always a character in the work

Question 10

epiphany

Answer 10

a moment of sudden revelation or insight

Question 11

tragic hero

Answer 11

the central character in a tragedy who experiences a tragic downfall; has a tragic flaw which is the error, misstep, frailty, or flaw that causes the downfall of the tragic hero (also referred to as hamartia)

Question 12

caricature

Answer 12

the exaggeration of specific features of appearance or personality

Question 13

antagonist

Answer 13

people or force working against the protagonist

Question 14

soliloquy

Answer 14

a speech in which a character, alone on the stage, addresses him/herself; it is a “thinking out loud”, a dramatic means of letting an audience know a character’s thoughts/feelings or some other important information

Question 15

protagonist

Answer 15

character around which the action is centered

Question 16

foil

Answer 16

a character who, by his contrast with the main character, serves to accentuate that character’s distinctive qualities or characteristics

Question 17

archetype

Answer 17

a detail, image, or character type that occurs frequently in literature and myth and is thought to be considered universal

Question 18

hubris

Answer 18

excessive pride that constitutes the protagonist’s tragic flaw and leads to his/her downfall

Question 19

character

Answer 19

figure in a literary work

flat: defined by a single idea or quality
round: have the three dimensional complexity of real people
static: doesn’t change significantly over the course of a work
dynamic: change in response to circumstance and experience