​CHARACTERIZATION

·       Motivation can cause a character to change or remain the same.

·       Conflict can cause a character to change or remain the same.

·       Changes in characters can manifest themselves physically, emotionally, or psychologically.

·       Changes in characters are often noted in major scenes.

·       Changes in characters give insight into a central or controlling idea.

​QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER:

·       What provokes a character to change or remain unchanged?

·       What are the comparable traits of a character before and after he or she changes?

·       To what degree does the text convey empathy for those characters who change or for those who remain unchanged?

·       To what degree does a character's changing constitute progress or decline?

·       How does a character's changing or remaining unchanged affect other elements of the literary work and/or contribute to the meaning of the work as a whole?

​REMEMBER:

·       Change can be a slow or quick process.

·       Change can be positive or negative.

·       Remaining unchanged also speaks to the character.

·       Character progression always speaks to a central or controlling idea in a text.