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Pablo has taught college Spanish at the University of Missouri and Central Methodist University, and has a master's degree in Spanish literature.
A frog, a bird, a dog, a sheep, a pig, a crow. That sounds like the diet for something that eats all kinds of animals, but it's just a list of some characters we can find in stories we read. When we read a story, it is very important we identify who is part of it and their role.
We want to approach character analysis through three basic steps. Do not skip or change the order of any steps because that will take away your ability to analyze the text properly. You can remember them with the acronym CID. These are the three steps:
Let's read about the three little pigs and the big bad wolf and then analyze the characters.
Once upon a time, there were three little pigs who lived with their grandmother. As they grew older, the youngest and yet most mature, decided they should all build houses for themselves. The other two brothers decided that would be a great idea. The oldest, who didn't like to work and was lazy, built a house of hay. The middle brother, who wanted to play all day built a house of wood. The youngest, and wisest, built a house of brick.
One day, the big bad wolf came out of the forest and knocked on the door of the house of hay. Then he blew the house down. The pig escaped and ran to the house of wood. Next, the wolf blew down the house of wood. The two pigs escaped and ran to the house of brick. The wolf, assuming the third house was as weak as the other two, blew and blew with no avail. He then tried the chimney. The wisest pig built a fire at the bottom of the chimney and burnt the wolf, who then ran far away and never returned.
To comprehend means gaining a basic understanding. To comprehend the characters, we can ask questions like:
In The Three Little Pigs, there are three pigs, a grandmother pig and a wolf. The youngest pig is the protagonist, and the wolf is the antagonist. The protagonist is the main character that represents the hero, and the antagonist is the one that opposes the protagonist (the bad guy).
To interpret the characters, we want to dig a little deeper into the details than in the comprehension stage. We can ask questions about their traits, behavior, perception and purpose.
Character traits ask questions like:
The youngest pig is wise, patient and mature. The middle pig is playful. The oldest pig is lazy and shuns hard work. The wolf is described as big and bad. He seems hungry and persistent with a healthy set of lungs.
Character behavior ask questions like:
The youngest pig, when faced with an obstacle, thinks of a good solution and takes action. He builds a strong brick house and also builds a fire in the chimney to deter the wolf because he is the wise pig. The middle pig takes the easy way when building a house and runs away from his problem (the wolf) because he isn't focused enough to do things well. The oldest pig also takes the easy way when building a house and runs away from his problem (the wolf) because he is too lazy. The wolf uses his strong force when facing obstacles because he is big and bad.
Character perceptions ask questions like:
This version of the story doesn't give insight into the characters thoughts or perceptions. An example could be if the story said ' . . . and the youngest pig, who thought he was the best . . .' We can tell the author's perceptions though through descriptive words in the story and actions the characters take. The author portrays the youngest pig as wise, young and mature. The middle pig is portrayed as wanting to play all day, and the oldest pig is described as lazy. The author created the wolf to be big and bad.
Character purpose ask questions like:
The youngest pig is the protagonist and carries the role of defeating opposition. He represents wisdom and hard work overcoming the wolf. The middle pig represents the result of playing instead of working. The oldest pig demonstrates the problems that come from laziness. The wolf is the antagonist and is the adversary to the three little pigs. He provides the opportunity for the youngest pig to demonstrate his wisdom.
Now that we have a good understanding of the characters, we can begin to draw conclusions. Here are some examples of questions we could ask ourselves in order to draw conclusions:
The three little pigs are designed to teach us a lesson about life. The oldest pig and middle pig teach us that if we neglect our work due to laziness and playfulness, there are consequences. Their minimal time building homes is actually a waste because their homes are destroyed. Had they put more effort in, the homes would be still standing. The youngest pig teaches us that, even though he's the youngest, hard work pays off. He takes the time to build a brick house and he's able to defeat obstacles that come his way. His work can withstand the test of time.
In this lesson, we discussed the process of analyzing characters. By first comprehending the text, then interpreting the details, followed by drawing conclusions, we can easily analyze characters in a story. Just remember the acronym CID:
This lesson should make it easier for you to:
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Common Core ELA Grade 8 - Literature: Standards9 chapters | 60 lessons
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