Questions we Can Help you to Answer

Paper Instructions:

Fiction (Character Analysis) Essay: Critically Thinking About a Character

In this essay, you will write a 500-700 word analysis of a character from one of the stories we have read in this unit (consider looking at the Research Paper requirements and choosing a character from one of the stories listed; also, keep in mind, you may have to look/read ahead in order to choose).  The essay must include direct quotations from the text (your primary source) that are properly formatted according to MLA style.    

Also, you will need to find one secondary source about your story and/or character.  The source must be an academic source, meaning that it should be published in a book or an article printed in a scholarly journal.  The easiest way to find an article is to visit the TC Library's online databases. (http://www.templejc.edu/library/db_pgs/lit.html)  I find that the most useful database is the first one listed, Academic Search Complete, though you may certainly search others (we will be visiting the library for an orientation on how to navigate/access the onsite and online materials found via the TC Library).  

The Process of Writing this Essay

To determine the nature of the character, you must study the evidence the writer gives us, deleting nothing from the character’s own actions, dialogue, attitudes, or thoughts, or from the other character’s attitudes toward him or her. Watch for ironies, inconsistencies, and the character’s own bias. After looking at the author’s presentation of the character, try to find some consistent characteristics that are significant in terms of the whole work.

Any reader can compile a list of characteristics; your job is to show why they are important in terms of the whole work. For example, the following statement simply lists characteristics: “Bibi is Calixta and Bobinot’s young and curious son.” However, the following is much more effective: “Bibi’s youthfulness and curiosity echo his mother’s qualities, and his purity and innocence resemble his father’s personality; therefore, Bibi’s characteristics highlight the struggle between responsible decisions and personal desires.”

Also, our textbook provides numerous examples of student essays that you should find helpful as you begin to write your first essay.

Prewriting

Here are the steps you should follow for prewriting and planning the fiction essay:

1. Name the character you are analyzing. Is this character an antagonist or a protagonist?

2. Give a physical description of the character and quote the lines from the story which give you the physical descriptions.

3. Describe the character’s goals, interests, conflicts, and background (in complete sentences) and quote lines from the story that support your answers.

4. Describe where the character lives, what he/she owns or values, and what he/she wears; quote lines from the story to support your statements.

5. Find three significant statements made by the character; quote them; describe the context in which they are made, and describe what they reveal about the character.

6. Quote a significant passage that reveals your character’s thoughts. Describe what this passage reveals about your character or your character’s attitude.

7. Find one significant statement made to the character by another character. Quote it; explain its context and what it reveals about the character.

8. What do other characters say about your character? Does the narrator often describe him or her?

9. What do other characters do around your character? Their actions may help to indicate what your character could do but does not do.

10. Briefly list three significant actions performed by the character. Explain what each reveals about the character and what motivates the character to take these actions.

11. Finally: Who is this character? What is his/her meaning and significance?

After answering these questions, you should have a list of quotations and characteristics that define this character. Look over your list. Choose three or four of these characteristics you consider to be the most important and/or the most related. These will be the characteristics you focus on.

What do these characteristics mean in terms of the whole story? How do they affect your interpretation of the work as a reader? How does the author use this character to achieve the overall theme of the work? Once you have considered these questions, you are ready to write the character analysis essay.

Evaluation Criteria

This assignment will be graded based on how well your essay demonstrates the following qualities:

1. A strong thesis supported by evidence from the text. Your job in writing this essay centers around clear communication--what overall point are you attempting to make about the character you've chosen to analyze?

2. Sufficient evidence to support your claim in the form of quotations and details. When you quote from the story, use parenthetical citations according to MLA guidelines.

3.  Accurate use and citation of one secondary scholarly resource (described in the first paragraph of this handout) according to the 2016 8th edition MLA formatting guidelines for the in-text citations and works cited page.  Your MLA Handbook, textbook, and the MLA Formatting Guide powerpoint in the "Writing Help" section will come in handy here.

4. Strong organization.

5. Error-free sentences (utilize your Little Brown Handbook!).

6.  Completion of the minimum word count for this paper


2/20: Your Fiction Essay is due this week, and I'll be starting to give feedback on it this weekend and next week. 

Please note that this is a character analysis that should focus on one specific, major character from one of the stories we've read (or will read if you read ahead; I'm open to you doing any other story in the textbook that isn't assigned, if one interests you, as well). Again, this character should be a major character, either the main character/protagonist or another major character that has a profound and specific impact on the story and is a major focus of the story (i.e. readers get a lot of insight and details about the character via the narrator). 

For example, while "A Good Man is Hard to Find" isn't told through the Misfit's perspective, and many don't see him as the main character of the story, there's still enough information about him given via the story that he's a major factor in all that happens to the protagonist and the outcome of the story; therefore, that character would be a good choice for a character analysis. 

Your goal with this character analysis is to present a claim about a character and support/explain your reasoning behind that claim by way of the essay as a whole. Who is this person? What does he/she represent? Stand for? Symbolize? Etc. All of the aforementioned "big picture" questions can help you key in on your intended thesis--overall point--of this essay. 

Don't forget about the secondary source requirement; you'll include a works cited page with at least two source citations listed--one for the story you're writing about and one for the source you've chosen to use to support your analysis. There are several examples throughout the sample student writing in the textbook of how to properly cite sources, both in-text/parenthetically and on the works cited page; for example, the sample works cited on pages 48 and 51 give a good idea of what a full citation for a story from our textbook would look like. Don't forget all you learned in Unit 1/Part 1, too, and utilize the last 7 chapters of the textbook, as well. Finally, remember that anything you have listed as a source on your works cited page must be used and properly cited via parenthetical citations in your essay; the whole point of having a works cited page is to list sources you've actually used in the paper and to directly connect to the parenthetical/in-text citations for each time you use a piece of info from those sources.    

Keep in mind, the idea is you will expand on your Fiction Essay and turn it into your Research Paper--your interpretation of a story's theme.  If you haven't already, take time to read through all the assignments in the Research Project section of Content.