Influence of Character Reactions in Fictional Stories
The way characters react to specific situations is crucial in any story. Characters are as interesting as their responses to situations and events in various works. (Bernardo, p. 67) This document analyzes various characters and two fictional stories in order to demonstrate that this statement holds. Authors use characters to act various roles in their work and in a manner that will help to develop their plot. In any fictional work, there are various characters depending on the plot and the overall goal of the author. Major characters are normally the center of attention throughout the plot. They help in the development of the plot and are involved in resolving the conflict in the work at the end of the plot. Minor characters are used to develop the role of a major character. Other variations in the categorization of the characters are based on their behavior throughout the plot. In this perspective, dynamic characters are members of the cast who change from time to time as the story progresses. They do this because of the scenarios and events happening throughout the plot.
On the other hand, static characters do not change as the plot develops. A round character is one whose personality is not easy to define and understand. A flat character is one whose personality is easily identifiable. The main character in a plot is referred to as the protagonist and is faced with a conflict that they try to resolve as the plot develops. An antagonist may be a character or a situation that bothers the protagonist. It is upon the protagonist to find means of understanding and resolving the dispute between them. The author may use a symbolic character. A symbolic character is a character used to symbolize a perception used in the plot, which is happening in the society. As such, a symbolic character portrays real life occurrences in the society in a symbolic manner throughout the story (Bernardo, p. 68).
Accordingly, the manner in which characters respond to different events in the story enhances understanding and makes their roles more interesting. This helps raise the degree of suspense within the narrative, thus, making readers curious about what will transpire. This kind of suspense helps the author to capture and retain the attention of the readers hence making them to continue reading the story. Different readers develop different perceptions and understanding concerning a piece of work. Research indicates that various readers have different interests in a character’s reaction (Fasher and Frasher, p. 56). To understand how much a character's response influences the interests and perceptions of readers, it would be a great idea to have a look at various stories by different authors. The rest of this document analyses two stories and focuses on the key areas of the stories that help display the reaction of characters and how this influences the overall plot.
‘Barn Burning’ and ‘The Tell – Tale Heart’
Barn burning is a story about Snopes who struggles with a number of challenges (Faulkner, p. 78). The story begins with a son called Sartorius who contemplates about the actions of his father. His father has been accused by Mr. Harris of burning his barn. While in court, there is insufficient evidence to prove that Snopes is guilty. However, Snopes is still sent away from the county. While at his new home, Snopes’ family meets Major de Spain who owns the farm where they will start to work. Snopes continues with his mischievous behavior. On one occasion, he destroys de Spain’s rug while washing it. Snope is charged but refuses to admit his crime. His behavior continues to worsen to an extent where he attempts to burn de Spain’s barn.
As such, ‘The Tell-Tale Heart’ drama is a narrative about man’s action of committing murder. He kills an old man after his instincts alert him that the pounding of the old man’s heart may signal the neighbors of his scary entry to the old man’s house. He brutally kills him, mutilates his body and hides the body parts under the floorboard in the bedroom. However, neighbors notify the police about the old man’s shriek and they respond to his distress call. The man welcomes them into the house calmly, but in the end, he narrates the ordeal (Poe, p.45). The reason behind his confession was that he believes that police officers would hear the pounding of the dead man’s heart.
In addition, the use of descriptive phrases and words such as “the old man’s blue eyes” and “mutilating” enables readers to form perfect imaginations of the scene of the murder. In the ‘The Tell-Tale Heart’ drama, the author uses a narrator to develop the story. The narrator’s actions depict a confused person, but his narration seems to contradict. He claims that he is not a mad man but his actions depict otherwise (Poe, p. 46). When police officers arrive at the crime scene, the man behaves calmly to the extent that police officers did not even have a clue of what had happened. He welcomes them to the house and even has a chat with them. While chatting, he hears the pounding of the man’s heart. The man is confused and things that the old man’s heart was trying to signal to the police officers. He ends up describing what he had done to the police officers who promptly arrest and detain him.
A character’s reaction in a story can have a dramatic effect on how the story develops. The use of certain words and phrases when describing the reactions of the characters helps to send a message about the developing conflict. This keeps the readers engaged in the plot. Without these kinds of reactions, the author is not able to clearly illustrate the actual occurrences. The right choice of words and reactions helps the mind of the reader to create or imagine the fictional world he is reading about (Bernardo, p. 70). Analyzing and understanding a character’s reaction indicates the level of influence it had on the readers. The goal of the author is to capture the attention of the readers so that they can read the story from the beginning to the end. He does this by wittingly employing various characters who react in different ways to different scenarios. This helps to bring out the meaning of the statement by Henry James that characters are only as interesting as their responses to particular situations.
In both stories, the characters play a key role in the development of the plot. Moreover, they help readers to understand the story through their reactions. In the ‘Barn Burning’ story, Sartorius’ reactions help to resolve the conflict of the plot. He acts under the instructions of his father who commits several crimes but counts on him to lie about what happened (Faulkner, p. 81). His father goes to the extent of ordering his mother to restrain him when he attempts to stop him from committing a crime. He struggles and ends up stopping his father from burning the de Spain’s barn. His reaction to the whole story helps to keep the audience involved in the development of the plot and to enhance their understanding on what was happening.
Works Cited
Bernardo, Karen. Types of Characters in Fiction. 2013. Website. 16 June 2013. <http://learn.lexiconic.net/characters.htm>.
Fasher, James M. and Ramona S. Frasher. "Influence of Story Characters' Roles on Comprehension." The Reading Teacher 32.2 (1978): 160-164. Print. 16 June 2013. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/20194721>.
Faulkner, William. Barn Burning. New York: Paperblank Book Company, 1996. Print.
Poe, Edgar Allan and Gare Thompson. The Tell-Tale Heart. Washington: Benchmark Education Company, 2007. Print.
