What does the character say and how does he or she say it? What are the meanings of what the character says?

Drama: Character Analysis Assignment Sheet
A literary analysis on a character can do several things:
1. Tell the reader what a character is or is not
2. show how a character changes throughout a story
3. compare a character with another similar or dissimilar character, or
4. create a picture of a character for the reader. This type of analysis falls under the notion of argument because you are synthesizing information to prove an idea to the reader.
Consider the following –
o Speech: What does the character say and how does he or she say it? What are the meanings of what the character says?
o Thought: What does this character believe about the way life is? What are these beliefs based on? How do these beliefs affect the choices this character makes? How do those beliefs change through the story?
o Effect on other characters: How does this character get along with other characters in the story? Who does this character choose for friends and why does this character choose them? Where does this character stand in the social order? How does this character’s social standing affect events in the story?
o Actions: What choices does the character make during the course of the story? Does the character change how he or she acts? How? What affect does this change have on the character or others around the character?
o Looks: What does the character look like? How does the character’s physical attributes play a role in the story? How does the character change physically during the story? How does these changes affect the character’s experience?
After you have looked into your character, decide what you would like to prove: character traits, character evolution, character relationships and create your thesis
Put examples into thesis/topic form
o State what you are going to prove about the character(s) in the body of the paper
o Be sure not to just list summary of the character or just set out to tell who the character is
EX: Over the course of the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter evolves from a weak, dependent character to one of commanding independence. **Note: This thesis is put into a general thesis format, not X,Y, Z
EX: As evinced by his strength in speaking, his actions, and his ability to handle conflict, Harry Potter makes an evolution in character throughout the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling. **Note: This would be an example of an X, Y, Z thesis
EX: In J.K. Rowlings series Harry Potter, the characters of Hermione Granger and Luna Lovegood illustrate a parallel to a powerful feminist ideal. **Note: This would be a general thesis
Use evidence from the film to illustrate your points. You should use direct quotes and description of plot elements.
Requirements:
Write a 750 word character analysis on one of the characters from either Into the Wild or Please Stand By.
MLA Format with works cited page

Tips:
Be careful not to summarize the story this is not an analysis
Find connections and be original in your synthesis
If using secondary sources, proof of your exact idea may not be readily available what you will do is use support of individual elements to then address your main thesis idea
Never use just the authors first name use the last name only or both names when discussing the author
Always use present tense when talking about literature unless something directly happened in the past in the literary piece

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