A great story is often, if not always, synonymous with great characters. Crafting great characters is not an easy feat. So it’s no wonder that readers and writers alike gravitate toward the best characters in storytelling. Analyzing characters can be incredibly helpful for crafting your own characters or simply understanding your favorite story more deeply. In this article, we’ll dive into how to write a character analysis by asking the right questions, analyzing characterization, and retaining curiosity throughout the process.
How to Write a Character Analysis
First, let’s define character analysis
Before we dive into the details of how to write a great character analysis let’s make sure we on the same page by looking at the character analysis definition.
CHARACTER ANALYSIS DEFINITION
What is a character analysis?
A character analysis is a written body of work that analyzes the qualities and traits of a specific character. These characters are primarily from literary works, but can also be from cinema and television. The purpose of a character analysis is to dissect the various intricacies of a character and their role within a story. A character analysis should focus on the quality and function of a character in a story rather than on personal opinions on how the writer might feel about the character. A character analysis should dissect various types of characterization from the writer of the character to form a well-rounded analysis.
Example character analysis types:
- Protagonist
- Antagonist
- Dynamic
- Static
First and foremost, it’s important to identify the type of character you're writing about. To identify the character type of your analysis here are two questions that are important to address: What is their function in the story? And how do they change or not change throughout the story?
How to Do a Character Analysis
Determine the character’s function
A character’s function in a story is incredibly important to understand because it gives context as to why the writer made specific choices around the character such as their goals, behavior, and even outward appearance.
Depending on a character’s function in the story they will fall under one of the following types: protagonist, antagonist, foil, or mentor.
Protagonist
A protagonist is a character who pushes a story forward. He or she is also the central force of the story. Here's a video where break down the main types.
What is a Protagonist • Subscribe on YouTube
Derived from the Greek words prōtos and agōnistēs, “protagonist” quite literally translates to “first actor.” In the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter is the protagonist.
Antagonist
An antagonist is the force of a story that the protagonist contends with; whether it be human, natural or supernatural. Every protagonist needs an antagonistic force. Here is a quick rundown on antagonists.
What is a Antagonist • Subscribe on YouTube
Derived from the Greek word agonizesthai, “antagonist” literally translates to English as “to contend with.” In the Harry Potter series, "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named" is the antagonist. Alright we’ll say it for clarity — Lord Voldemort.
Foil
A foil character is a fictional character that serves to expose something intrinsic in another character. Oftentimes, the thing that is exposed is a character folly, like cowardice or greed.
In the Harry Potter series, Draco Malfoy is often Harry’s foil.
Mentor
A mentor is a character that serves a guide and/or teacher for the story’s protagonist. The mentor is an integral component of Joseph Cambell’s hero’s journey story structure.
In the Harry Potter series, Albus Dumbledore is Harry’s mentor.
How to Write a Character Analysis
Analyze the character’s development
This second question will help you write a better character analysis because it addresses whether or not your character changes or does not change over the course of the story.
Static character
A static character is a character that does not undergo any significant internal change over the course of a story. Throughout a story, a static character largely remains the same and does not grow or develop in a substantial way.
Watch our character analysis of Marty McFly and his "flat arc" for a great example of a character who doesn't change.
Dissecting a "flat" character arc • Subscribe on YouTube
Dynamic character
A dynamic character is a character that undergoes significant internal change over the course of a story. This change can happen subtly and gradually throughout the story and can be a change for better or worse. This is a character who often learns a lesson or changes in beliefs or principles.
For a few examples that will drive home the differences between dynamic and static characters, check out this video breakdown below.
Analyzing Characters • Dynamic vs Static Characters
Understanding what a character’s function is and what their development is over time will help you determine the focus point of your character development analysis
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How to Write a Proper Character Analysis
Choose a point of focus
When learning how to write a character analysis choosing a focus point is important for creating a thoughtful, and poignant analysis. Without a solid focus, you run the risk of writing a character synopsis and regurgitating facts and details the reader already knows about the character.
To reverse engineer a focus point in your character analysis, ask yourself what the reader can learn from this character from a writer’s perspective? Is this character a complex hero? What makes this character memorable or iconic?
In the video below, we analyze the character Anton Chigurh from No Country for Old Men and focus on what makes Chigurh the perfect antagonist.
Why Anton Chigurh is the Perfect Antagonist • Subscribe on YouTube
It can be difficult to land on the focus point of your character analysis right away. This is why it is important to first analyze the function of your character and their development throughout the story.
In this process, you will find what makes this character unique and what readers can take away from your analysis.
How to Do a Character Analysis
Analyzing characterization
Once you have your focus point, it’s time to gather evidence and support for your thesis. These pieces of support will derive from the characterization.
Characterization is the process through which an artist communicates character to an audience. In writing, characterization is achieved through dialogue, actions, and descriptions. There is both direct characterization and indirect characterization. To help you analyze these two types of characterization, let’s break them down.
Direct and Indirect Characterization • Analyzing Characters
Direct characterization
Direct characterization is “surface level” characterization. It’s simply the overt information we’re given about a character, such as “what they look like, what their job is, and what they appear to others.” Many literary scholars describe this type of characterization as “what we’re told about a character.”
An example of this can be found in The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway. Hemingway uses direct characterization to describe the main character writing “Everything about him was old except his eyes and they were the same color as the sea and were cheerful and undefeated.”
Indirect characterization
Indirect characterization, on the other hand, is a subtype of characterization that’s defined by “showing” rather than “telling.” It is an important technique used by writers for developing nuanced characters. It is primarily utilized through what the character says, thinks, and does.
A common acronym for indirect characterization is “STEAL” which refers to speech, thinks, effect, action, and looks. These details often come from dialogue, goals, desires, and the history or background of the character.
An example of indirect characterization can be found in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird. Harper writes, “First of all,’ he said, ‘if you can learn a simple trick, Scout, you’ll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view […] until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.”
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How to Write a Proper Character Analysis
Character analysis questions
As you continue to flesh out and write your character analysis you may hit some road blocks. A valuable tool to overcome these roadblocks are questions. Try to think of the character that you are analyzing as a person that actually exists that you are interviewing.
What questions would you ask them to really understand who they are? Here are a few examples of character analysis questions to get you started.
What are your values?
What is your background? How did you grow up?
How have you changed from what happened to you or through what you experienced?
Is there a lesson you learned from all of this?
While you may not be able to answer all of these questions from the characterization the author provides, it’s a great exercise to uncover what you may not have yet realized about this character.
Character analyses are not only a dive into the craft of writing and storytelling, but an analysis of psychology and experience. When analyzing a character, it’s important to wear both hats to provide an insightful, well-rounded character analysis that is unique and thoughtfully presented.
Up Next
What is Characterization?
As we mentioned above, characterization is incredibly important to understanding the characters of a great story. In our next article, we take a deeper dive into characterization and more examples of both indirect and direct characterization.
