The Importance and Meaning of Characterization The wise Vibishana declares, “A man loses his honour and name only through lust and avarice. You have acquired extraordinary powers through your own spiritual performances but you have misused your powers and attacked the very gods that gave you the power, and now you pursue evil ways” (The Ramayana page 126). The Ramayana portrays each and every character having his or her own personality traits and specific behaviors. Why is characterization so important in a story that is now history? How did R.K. Narayan show the characters hopes, dreams, and true colors? Because of Narayan’s intellectual ways of displaying characterization in The Ramayana, the reader understands why it is used, how it …show more content…
The author, Narayan, says these words about Rama, “Rama felt a pity for her, and, not wanting to seem hostile, tried to argue her out of her purpose” (The Ramayana page 65). The author directly tells us what Rama is feeling, the shame and disappointment for the desperate demon Soorpanaka. Other times, the writer of The Ramayana gives us personality traits of the characters through their actions or words, therefore, indirectly. For example, we learn that Rama is wise and selfless when he speaks these words, “Even when you realize that the one before you is an enemy and must be treated sternly, do not hurt with words.” (The Ramayana page 106). Characterization allows the reader to analyze the characters in different ways. Through the use of characterization in The Ramayana, the reader is able to compare and contrast different characters. Indirect and direct characterization allows the characters to be connected by their personality and behavior. For example, Ravana and Rama can be contrasted in many ways. Rama is the ultimate display of goodness, while Ravana is the depiction of greatness. The reader sees this connection of characters multiple times throughout the book by words, actions, and thoughts. During the great battle at the end of the book, we see Rama’s goodness with these words Rama says, “It is not fair
Through characterisation, the author is able to express the main idea of disempowerment and also allowing us as readers to feel discontented and upset towards the main character.
The first case that characterization occurs is when the author shows the differences between the parents. For instance, the author explains “Her mother was sending a chauffeur to pick her up. Then tomorrow they would fly back to New York.” These narration quotes illustrate that the mom is very wealthy, since she is sending a chauffeur to pick her daughter up. The second part of the quote, suggests that the mother is proper, for being a city girl, as stated that they would fly back to New York. Another instance where the author uses characterization is when the mother states “Somebody gets a peach with a bug in it, and throws it away, he makes up a lot of foolishness.” Then the daughter snaps back with saying “It’s not foolishness.” These quotes show that the father impacts the daughter to see the good in everything, where previously the daughter states “Well, we’re not going to squash him, that’s one thing we’re not going to do.” This response refers to how the daughter does not see the bug as a horrible thing, but yet as a fascinating thing. The last instance of characterization occurs when the mother explains “But it is just a bug isn’t it really? That’s all it is.” The daughter replies with “And we have to squash it?” The mother answers with “That’s right.” This conversation illustrates that the mother influenced the daughter to grow up. She convinced the daughter that a bug is just a bug, and
The original The Ramayana is a great epic that has stood the test of time, and has been influential yet controversial throughout history. R.K Narayan’s version has been the same; his composition of stories adds another layer to the already plentiful themes, leaving the reader satisfied with his brilliant description and insight. Through Narayan’s constant comparison that parallels Rama to a perfect specimen, he is demonstrating a “Straw Man” argument. Its effect illuminates Rama’s flaws rather than his seemingly perfect composure. Narayan consciously chooses moments at Rama’s darkest hours to transform him into the relatable human figure he was meant to become.
Characterization is a method a writer uses to reveal the personality of a character by what they do or says and what other says about them. Throughout the novel, we see Dracula, a creature of the night perform many evil deeds such as biting victims like Lucy and Maria, and control over violent creatures in nature. By these actions, it reveals that Dracula is a evil monster, an emotionless killer and very mysterious. On the other hand, VanHelsing actions such as trying to save Lucy from Dracula, deep emotional care towards friends like Mina when she is losing hope after her encounter with Dracula also reveals personality traits. By these actions, Vanhelsing is seen to be caring and have a strong belief in religion having powers. This shows how Vanhelsing is the most threating towards Dracula because both of their personalities are the complete opposite. As Vanhelsing uses religious items due to their powers over Dracula, Dracula perverts the way of Christianity and only causes trouble for other people. This is how characterization of both Dracula and Vanhelsing shows the professor is the largest threat to
With characterization the reader is able to find out who a character is and what he/she is about. Characterization is a huge part of literature and is almost always present in a story. Without characterization the reader would be left with boring, plain characters. Characterization is super important in literature because it adds a whole new aspect to a story that the reader would have never known without characterization.
It is in these actions that the character’s traits are established. It is in this that we, the readers, get to “see” what kind of character thee people are: friendly, sad, nosey, love-struck, adventurous, etc. When we discuss characters in literature, poetry, and even film, we often describe them in terms of their character traits, descriptive adjectives that define the specific qualities of the character. The author/ poet/ director may present this directly, but often times, they show us this in action. Our job as readers/ viewers is to draw conclusions about the character’s traits (infer them). Below is a list of ways we can determine the traits of the character we are studying:
Characterization allows for you to get a grip on each and every character in a story. If a character wasn’t described, you wouldn’t know what kind of person or choices they’d make. Details on each character help separate and show differences. The characters in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest are very different in personalities and problems. Kesey describes Chief Bromden, the
Characterization in a narrative is how the author creates and describes a character. The character is introduced and then explained in detail throughout the story. The two ways an author can deliver this information to the audience is through direct and indirect characterization. Direct characterization is when the author is telling the readers information about the character and what he or she is like. Indirect characterization is when the author attempts to show what the character is like and give the reader information through the character’s actions and words. Through both direct and indirect characterization, we are able to understand some of the physical attributes of the character as well as their personality. People want to know why
Characterization is an important component in short story writing. In the short story "Lamb to the Slaughter" written by Roald Dahl, we are introduced to Mary Maloney, a pregnant housewife who recently found out that her husband is going to leave her. Mary develops into a very complex character as the events of the short story unfold. Mary is a typical housewife, waiting on her husband hand and foot. She loves him dearly, but as the short story unfolds, we see that he does not share the same feelings. Mary, unable to handle the rejection, lashes out and kills her husband. We then see Mary’s character transform before our eyes and the once loving, dutiful housewife becomes a very devious, manipulative and cold hearted character. She manages
This brings the character to life based on the choices he makes when facing difficult situations. Having confidence and being brave are important characteristics that depict how someone approaches a problem. It also shows what kind of person you are.
Characterization is how the characters in the text are viewed and developed as the text expands. For this, I will consider the character, Nyla (purple). Nyla is an innocent girl with dull eyes and voice. Her innocence is revealed as tells of her first time sex encounter and also in her lack of understanding of her mum and sister’s relationship. Her confession of sex to an older man is like that of a young misled child. She is ignorant of the world and its dangers. She just completed high school and is very excited, happy to lose her virginity to childhood sweetheart. Reality drowns on her when she finds out she is pregnant and needed to abort. Her innocence gives her away when she tries to
Characterization is a literary element used by the author to present qualities of characters in a literary piece, the purpose of characterization is to make characters credible and make them suitable for the role they play in the work. Authors present various characters possessing dissimilar qualities, to emphasize different aspects of the work. In the novel “The Scarlet Letter”, the author Nathaneil Hawthorn’s depiction of the two male characters, Arthur Dimmesdale and Roger Chillingworth, emphasizes the moral problems of the seventeenth century puritan society. Hence, their different characters contribute vitally to the plot of the novel.
The literary technique of characterization is often used to create and delineate a human character in a work of literature. When forming a character, writers can use many different methods of characterization. However, there is one method of characterization that speaks volumes about the character and requires no more than a single word - the character's personal name. In many cases, a personal name describes the character by associating him with a certain type of people or with a well known historical figure. Therefore, since the reader learns the character's name first, a personal name is a primary method of characterization; it
Dharma is the duty that people must fulfill in order to achieve their life’s purpose. In the Hindu religion, it is what guides the followers’ life choices and actions. Only the utmost just decisions and choices will lead down the path of obtaining dharma. At first glance, the Indian epic, The Ramayana, is a love story about a prince who is banished to the forest and an evil creature subsequently kidnaps his wife. However, it serves a much greater purpose in the Hindu culture. The Ramayana serves as a guide to living a life of moral righteousness. Rama and Sita are role models of how men and women should interact with each other and with society. There is multiple times throughout the epic that Rama faces morally difficult decisions that he flawlessly surpasses, a feat that his human peers surely would not have had the mental strength to accomplish. Rama is the supreme example of how to live a moral life. Rama’s dharma is to destroy evil, and throughout the book the difficult choices he makes and the heroic actions her performs are what guide him in his quest to fulfill his duty. Other characters in the epic, such as Ravana, are faced with the same moral dilemmas and chose incorrectly, which ultimately lead to their demise. Rama’s profound greatness is a result of his ability to place dharma above all other humanly desires and personal interests.
Character is defined as who we are in our word and deed. Our character defines our personality as a whole and shows other people what kind of person that we are. If we live by the cardinal and theological virtues, our character will resemble that of the virtues. If we chose not to live by the virtues, then our character will resemble that of vices. Vices are bad qualities that we do not want to acquire. In order to make a path for ourselves to Heaven, we must build up our character as good faithful servants of Christ.