don't need a translator for that one.
"While I was overcome by these feelings, I left the spot where I had committed the murder, and seeking a more secluded hiding-place, I entered a barn which had appeared to me to be empty." p. 103
This is the creation, immediately after killing William. I mean, he says "You shall be my first victim", but then shows remorse right after that. I'll be honest, I never thought I'd be characterizing the creation. my perception was that he would never be anything more than a flat character. NO! he's multi-dimensional. dynamic, even. he feels remorse (as many murderers do, Criminal Minds tells me), happiness, sadness, anger, frustration. HE'S A REAL BOY! =} what's even more interesting to me is that he feels guilt and also fear of being caught. (he could rip humans limb from limb, why is he afraid of police?) even MORE impressive to me is that he has the capacity to frame Justine for the crime. boggles. my. mind. really quite impressive.
Showing posts with label characterization. Show all posts
Showing posts with label characterization. Show all posts
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
characterization, eh?
"He had seen me several times, and had intended to call on me long before, but a peculiar combination of circumstances had prevented it - signed Jay Gatsby"
peculiar indeed. the characterization in this book is pretty direct with all of the characters except Gatsby. generally, Nick just says what they're like. sometimes another character helps us out as well, but generally it's just Nick. in the beginning, he characterized himself straight-up and continues to do so. all of the other characters are loud, obnoxious, quiet, pretty, calm, interesting. they're all given the adjectives you learn to use in any first-year language class. La chica es bonita. Él es alto. blahblahblah. you get the point. but Gatsby is a rather strange fellow. no one knows him. so he's indirectly characterized. we know he likes (or doesn't mind) having parties. he's rather reserved. and Nick doesn't think he has much to say. he's a bit shifty. I'mma keep my eye on him.
peculiar indeed. the characterization in this book is pretty direct with all of the characters except Gatsby. generally, Nick just says what they're like. sometimes another character helps us out as well, but generally it's just Nick. in the beginning, he characterized himself straight-up and continues to do so. all of the other characters are loud, obnoxious, quiet, pretty, calm, interesting. they're all given the adjectives you learn to use in any first-year language class. La chica es bonita. Él es alto. blahblahblah. you get the point. but Gatsby is a rather strange fellow. no one knows him. so he's indirectly characterized. we know he likes (or doesn't mind) having parties. he's rather reserved. and Nick doesn't think he has much to say. he's a bit shifty. I'mma keep my eye on him.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
YOUR MOTHER!
that's the only "joke" I can think of now. sorry.
question three at the end of this story asks about the use of jokes and the importance to the characterization of Zoë.
Zoë, to put it as plainly as possible is eccentric. just matter-of-factly eccentric. I think the fact that she cracks jokes all the time builds (or rather, shields) her character quite nicely. realistically, too. she's suuper sarcastic with everything. I believe that when people go through personality analysis by a psychiatrist, they are told that the frequent use of sarcasm is a way of shielding oneself. I think this definitely fits Zoë, to an extent. even when others are trying to be serious (like about getting married), she can't help but come back with some smart-alecky response. in addition to suggesting that she doesn't like letting people in, it accentuates her lack of seriousness. she feels like life is too short to be worrying about stuff all the time. her constant joking shows that.
question three at the end of this story asks about the use of jokes and the importance to the characterization of Zoë.
Zoë, to put it as plainly as possible is eccentric. just matter-of-factly eccentric. I think the fact that she cracks jokes all the time builds (or rather, shields) her character quite nicely. realistically, too. she's suuper sarcastic with everything. I believe that when people go through personality analysis by a psychiatrist, they are told that the frequent use of sarcasm is a way of shielding oneself. I think this definitely fits Zoë, to an extent. even when others are trying to be serious (like about getting married), she can't help but come back with some smart-alecky response. in addition to suggesting that she doesn't like letting people in, it accentuates her lack of seriousness. she feels like life is too short to be worrying about stuff all the time. her constant joking shows that.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
"If you build it, he will come."
I've said that line and known the storyline behind it since I was... seven? at the oldest? I've seen the movie with my dad countless times, so reading "Shoeless Joe Jackson Comes to Iowa" was a pleasure, let me tell ya. props, W. P. Kinsella.
soherewego:
PLOT
The whole story starts with the narrator (his name is Ray Kinsella in the movie, I found no name in the short story) sitting on his porch "at dusk on a spring evening" when he hears the voice of a ballpark announcer telling him "If you build it, he will come" (511). The obvious question that the reader has with this ambiguous plot beginning is: build what, exactly? and who's going to come? And the story does get to that (what: a baseball diamond. mainly, left field (514), who: "Shoeless" Joe Jackson) but it explains the significance of it (i. e. the whole POINT of the story) in jumpy side-stories. As soon as he finishes his lemonade, he goes into bed, tells his wife what it's going to do, and she says, simply "if it makes you happy you should do it" (512) and then he goes into a story about how wonderful she is for putting up with him - and let's face it, a farmer who is barely breaking even wanting to build a baseball diamond in part of his fields is pretty nuts. He frequently adds anecdotes about his dad as well. these emphasize the importance baseball has to him. He and his dad always bonded over baseball, especially Shoeless Joe Jackson and the "Black Sox Scandal", on which the narrator was raised (514). The last half of the story (516-522) takes place solely in the present, with an interaction between the narrator and Shoeless Joe who has come to play ball in this field. These conversations finalize and conclude the opening statement: "if you build it, he will come." Indeed, in building this "diamond" and taking great care of it (preventing the grass from freezing because of the frost (p.515), asking professionals how to care for it (514)), his dream of encountering this baseball legend happened and because of the anecdotes about his father, we as readers understand just how meaningful this is to the narrator.
POINT OF VIEW
The whole story is told from the narrator's point of view, a first person POV. this is a direct POV too. the narrator is not telling this story as he saw it happen. the story is HIS story. this point of view is incredibly effective in calling attention to the importance that baseball and Shoeless Joe has to this narrator and his father. it makes the relationships between his father and wife more realistic and relateable which further intensifies the ending when Shoeless Joe shows up to play. it's not as if it's being told from an unfeeling, objective point of view. the emotion played on by first-person narrative is imperative for the proper conveyance of the story's meaning.
CHARACTERIZATION
The narrator is characterized almost entirely by his thoughts and actions. in fact, the only physical description given is that he had "ruined his insurance hands" by farming. He likes to make jokes (513), he's very dedicated (he builds a whole diamond, despite dirty looks and possible name calling, 512-13, 516) , and he adores his family (512, 515-16). He even refers to his wife and daughter as his "anyone else" in life (511). The wife is characterized physically: "red hair is short and curly...green eyes of a cat" (516), "a million freckles on her face and arms" (512), "an evil grin...tongue that travels at the speed of light" (516) and also by her actions, as described by the narrator: a series of "It was Annie who got me to"s on 516, her understanding throughout the story. the narrator's father is characterized through the dialogue related to the reader by the narrator. he is passionate about baseball. he has no objection to stating his opinion and was very matter-of-fact in his speech. (514, 516). Lastly, the daughter is also characterized by physical descriptions and her actions as related by the narrator: "an evil grin and bewitching eyes" "a magic about her" "climbs into my lap and watches baseball with me" (516). In essence, those who contribute to the importance of baseball are described more through their words and actions. those who are fundamental to the story but not the central theme are characterized by physical descriptions.
SETTING
The whole story is set in Iowa, the center of the Midwest. being from Indiana (and a family that ADORES baseball), this setting makes perfect sense in terms of the importance baseball had in this family, especially to the men of the family. Annie "understands [her husband] and not always what is happening" (516) in the game, much like the women in families now. this setting makes the story (right down to the love of the Cardinals and hatred of the Yankees, 513) more relateable to modern times. the time frame of this story is at some point after 1951 (the death of Shoeless Joe) (513, 520), likely in the mid- to late-1900s, but not much more detail than that is given. The time period it occurs in does not seem to have much importance to the story itself, beside the fact that it takes place after the death of Shoeless Joe.
THEME
Baseball is life? Is that an acceptable theme? ;]
but really, there are two themes I found in this story. first, the aforementioned love of family. the narrator adores his wife and daughter. he loves(-ed) his father. they all loved him back. this unconditional love, I think, was the most important theme in the whole piece. without the love and support of his family and the passion instilled by it, the second theme would never have been as effective. (cute segue, huh?) THEME 2: hard work and dedication pay off. even if you are crazy. but really, this guy spent seasons of hard work (three, to be specific, 514) to complete this dream he had. he got weird looks from neighbors, I'm sure, his in-laws though he was crazy, and at the end, he was almost despondent because nothing happened. he "waited, and waited, and waited" (516) for something, and then YAY! Shoeless Joe shows up, plays some ball (complains a bit about the lights), compliments the narrator on his field, and all is well. because of his dedication, he was able to build his...
*gasp!* dare I say it?, no, no I can't. too cliché...
whoops, I did it...
nice segue though, huh?
soherewego:
PLOT
The whole story starts with the narrator (his name is Ray Kinsella in the movie, I found no name in the short story) sitting on his porch "at dusk on a spring evening" when he hears the voice of a ballpark announcer telling him "If you build it, he will come" (511). The obvious question that the reader has with this ambiguous plot beginning is: build what, exactly? and who's going to come? And the story does get to that (what: a baseball diamond. mainly, left field (514), who: "Shoeless" Joe Jackson) but it explains the significance of it (i. e. the whole POINT of the story) in jumpy side-stories. As soon as he finishes his lemonade, he goes into bed, tells his wife what it's going to do, and she says, simply "if it makes you happy you should do it" (512) and then he goes into a story about how wonderful she is for putting up with him - and let's face it, a farmer who is barely breaking even wanting to build a baseball diamond in part of his fields is pretty nuts. He frequently adds anecdotes about his dad as well. these emphasize the importance baseball has to him. He and his dad always bonded over baseball, especially Shoeless Joe Jackson and the "Black Sox Scandal", on which the narrator was raised (514). The last half of the story (516-522) takes place solely in the present, with an interaction between the narrator and Shoeless Joe who has come to play ball in this field. These conversations finalize and conclude the opening statement: "if you build it, he will come." Indeed, in building this "diamond" and taking great care of it (preventing the grass from freezing because of the frost (p.515), asking professionals how to care for it (514)), his dream of encountering this baseball legend happened and because of the anecdotes about his father, we as readers understand just how meaningful this is to the narrator.
POINT OF VIEW
The whole story is told from the narrator's point of view, a first person POV. this is a direct POV too. the narrator is not telling this story as he saw it happen. the story is HIS story. this point of view is incredibly effective in calling attention to the importance that baseball and Shoeless Joe has to this narrator and his father. it makes the relationships between his father and wife more realistic and relateable which further intensifies the ending when Shoeless Joe shows up to play. it's not as if it's being told from an unfeeling, objective point of view. the emotion played on by first-person narrative is imperative for the proper conveyance of the story's meaning.
CHARACTERIZATION
The narrator is characterized almost entirely by his thoughts and actions. in fact, the only physical description given is that he had "ruined his insurance hands" by farming. He likes to make jokes (513), he's very dedicated (he builds a whole diamond, despite dirty looks and possible name calling, 512-13, 516) , and he adores his family (512, 515-16). He even refers to his wife and daughter as his "anyone else" in life (511). The wife is characterized physically: "red hair is short and curly...green eyes of a cat" (516), "a million freckles on her face and arms" (512), "an evil grin...tongue that travels at the speed of light" (516) and also by her actions, as described by the narrator: a series of "It was Annie who got me to"s on 516, her understanding throughout the story. the narrator's father is characterized through the dialogue related to the reader by the narrator. he is passionate about baseball. he has no objection to stating his opinion and was very matter-of-fact in his speech. (514, 516). Lastly, the daughter is also characterized by physical descriptions and her actions as related by the narrator: "an evil grin and bewitching eyes" "a magic about her" "climbs into my lap and watches baseball with me" (516). In essence, those who contribute to the importance of baseball are described more through their words and actions. those who are fundamental to the story but not the central theme are characterized by physical descriptions.
SETTING
The whole story is set in Iowa, the center of the Midwest. being from Indiana (and a family that ADORES baseball), this setting makes perfect sense in terms of the importance baseball had in this family, especially to the men of the family. Annie "understands [her husband] and not always what is happening" (516) in the game, much like the women in families now. this setting makes the story (right down to the love of the Cardinals and hatred of the Yankees, 513) more relateable to modern times. the time frame of this story is at some point after 1951 (the death of Shoeless Joe) (513, 520), likely in the mid- to late-1900s, but not much more detail than that is given. The time period it occurs in does not seem to have much importance to the story itself, beside the fact that it takes place after the death of Shoeless Joe.
THEME
Baseball is life? Is that an acceptable theme? ;]
but really, there are two themes I found in this story. first, the aforementioned love of family. the narrator adores his wife and daughter. he loves(-ed) his father. they all loved him back. this unconditional love, I think, was the most important theme in the whole piece. without the love and support of his family and the passion instilled by it, the second theme would never have been as effective. (cute segue, huh?) THEME 2: hard work and dedication pay off. even if you are crazy. but really, this guy spent seasons of hard work (three, to be specific, 514) to complete this dream he had. he got weird looks from neighbors, I'm sure, his in-laws though he was crazy, and at the end, he was almost despondent because nothing happened. he "waited, and waited, and waited" (516) for something, and then YAY! Shoeless Joe shows up, plays some ball (complains a bit about the lights), compliments the narrator on his field, and all is well. because of his dedication, he was able to build his...
*gasp!* dare I say it?, no, no I can't. too cliché...
whoops, I did it...
nice segue though, huh?
Sunday, August 8, 2010
character and characterization - TSAR
I'm feeling a little wholesome characterization time. yay!
since this:
is the closest we get to direct characterization, I'd say that everything's going by indirect characterization. it hasn't been stated explicitly how a person is, so they're being characterized by their actions, what they say, and by describing them in other ways that aren't character traits.
so far, I'm feeling that Jake's sort of a static character. I'm not seeing him change much. he's basically always the level-headed mediator.
I can't really classify the others because they're not always there like Jake is.
Brett could be round or dynamic, but I'm not sure which. I'm not sure if she's really going to change that much, but she never seems to be the same. at the same time, I'm not positive if she's got multiple dimensions, but she seems pretty real, as in, I can relate to her in some way. not in the (lack of) morals sense, but it's not hard to picture her as a real person.
since this:
"Should we answer it?"
"We might as well, there's no need for us to be snooty." (p. 133)
is the closest we get to direct characterization, I'd say that everything's going by indirect characterization. it hasn't been stated explicitly how a person is, so they're being characterized by their actions, what they say, and by describing them in other ways that aren't character traits.
so far, I'm feeling that Jake's sort of a static character. I'm not seeing him change much. he's basically always the level-headed mediator.
I can't really classify the others because they're not always there like Jake is.
Brett could be round or dynamic, but I'm not sure which. I'm not sure if she's really going to change that much, but she never seems to be the same. at the same time, I'm not positive if she's got multiple dimensions, but she seems pretty real, as in, I can relate to her in some way. not in the (lack of) morals sense, but it's not hard to picture her as a real person.
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