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Sredni Vashtar Character Analysis

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Characterization of Conradin

Children. Innocent and naive. Their minds are undeveloped; yet, they paint fascinating narratives and sculpt vivid ideas using the power their imaginations. Children are carefree and only focused on their amusing activities. They are restricted from reality and do not see the world for what it is. Typical children are unable to dissect their world into parts or even classify all that is evil in the world. However, these children are nothing compared to the character Conradin.

Conradin is a young character from the short story “Sredni Vashtar,” written by Saki. He is portrayed as a dynamic and a round character throughout the text. In literature, a dynamic character is one who changes immensely, and a …show more content…

Conradin and his guardian share a feeling of detestation for each other, which continues to amplify. Saki incorporates direct characterization throughout his work to develop Conradin’s personality. He also includes two types of indirect characterization, too.

One type of indirect characterization is when the author portrays a character’s personality through the dialogue and actions of that character. Conradin had a vivid imagination he depended on to escape reality and boredom. This is demonstrated in paragraph one, “...two-fifths, in perpetual antagonism to the foregoing, were summed up in himself and his imagination...without his imagination, which was rampant under the spur of loneliness, he would have succumbed long ago,” Conradin manages to separate his world into fractions to illustrate the portion that was dependent upon his imagination. The average ten-year-old is unable to split his world apart mathematically like Conradin did; this signifies how tremendous Conradin’s intellectual abilities are. He has the ability to mask the resentment he feels for Mrs. de Ropp- an abnormal ability most children do not possess. In fact, typical children are not mature enough to suppress their bitterness- as demonstrated by their temper tantrums. In paragraph three, “He spun the beast a wonderful name, and from that moment on it grew into a god and a religion,” Conradin’s creativity is displayed through his ability to name a god and

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