character
DESCRIPTION
characterTRANSCRIPT
Special Issue of Character in Children’s Literature
• Character study may be enough for some adults, but it is not enough for children.
more limited his or her awareness of alternatives
a limited understanding of motivation• With maturity, children become aware of
unselfish motives and self-serving motives.
• Although children may have keen interest in character, most want character involved in action and making decisions.
• A character in children’s literature is incomplete without various kinds of protagonists, since characters are not only people or animals, but also be inanimate objects.
• It is the unity of character and action that makes each story live.
• Characterization also provided by picture-book illustrations.
Traditional Literature
• Traditional literature had been told from generation to generation, so that keep the spoken story moving with suspense.
• Folktale relies on stock characters.• Since folktales carry optimistic ending and
make its comment on life, characters need to be mentioned by a class name to be known.
• Stock characters like the wicked stepmother or the charming prince.
• It’s interesting to find that stories from many cultures focus on the lazy but tricky person.
• Not only Anderson and the Grimm have such characters, but we find them from others countries.
Animal Realism
• In a realistic story, we expect animal characters to behave like real animals.
• The temptation for the writer is to imagine and to report what thoughts and feelings the animals are having.
Science Fiction
• Fully developed science fiction characters are becoming more common.
• Science fiction has been called the fiction of change, ‘’future history.’’
• Early science fiction focused on plot and action.
• Unless plot grows out of character, it seems contrived and unimportant.
Classics
• A classic is a book that lasts because it continues to be read.
• Classical novelLittle WomenThe adventures of Tom SawyerThe Ugly DucklingPeter Rabbit• Real characters from classics join one generation
to another.
Summary
• Children can sense differences in humans and are capable of recognizing and responding to well-developed characters.
• Round characters have many traits, while flat characters have limited development.
• Central characters in the action are around• Children need the discovery of themselves as
part of humanity.