8.7.b 8.7.d

Characters

Characters are the people who populate a story. Characters will have different personalities and motivations that will affect how they interact with other characters and react to events in a story.

Types of Characters

Protagonist: The main character of the story that the events will primarily revolve around.

Characters are an integral literary element because they help the plot develop. A character's motivations and behavior will influence the events in a plot and how the conflict is resolved.

Character Motivations

Character Behavior

Setting

Setting refers to the time and place in which the events of a story take place. Physical, social, and/or cultural environments can be part of the setting. Shorter stories may take place in only one setting, but longer works can cover multiple settings as the plot progresses.

Where and when a story takes place is important because they can affect how the characters think and behave, as well as how the plot develops. Plots and characters can be directly influenced or motivated by a setting, and if a setting were to change, so would the story.

Physical Setting

Example:

In this example, the story is set in a small space — a bedroom. The character searches through the area until he is able to find his watch.

Location: Hiking Trail

Louis is out hiking when he realizes that the watch he wears is no longer on his wrist. He backtracks on the path and checks in the grass and rocks on the trail, trying to spot his watch. He spends a long time walking around without seeing his watch.

In this example, the story is set outdoors. The space that the character needs to search is much bigger, so he has a more difficult time looking for his watch.

Historical Setting

Example:

In the story set in the present time period, Anna is able to use present day technology (cell phone) to find her project partner, and they are able to resolve the conflict.

50 years in the past:

Anna and Joaquin are supposed to meet up in the library to work on a history project together. Anna waits for Joaquin for thirty minutes, but he does not show up. She leaves the library to look for him, asking around if people have seen him. When she cannot find him, she goes home.

In the story set in the past time period, Anna does not have access to a cellphone, so she cannot easily contact Joaquin. She has to search for him on her own and is unsuccessful, so the conflict is not resolved.

Cultural Setting

Example:

In the United States, there is a widespread belief that the number thirteen is unlucky in some way. In the example, the character chooses to ward off his misfortune by using good luck charms common to the country: four-leaf clovers and horseshoes.

A story set in Japan:

Kai believes himself to be cursed after all of his belongings are marked with the number four. As unfortunate circumstances continue to befall him, he buys an omamori, a lucky talisman, from his local Shinto shrine.

In Japan, the number four (shi) is pronounced the same way as the word for death (shi), which is why it is considered unlucky. In this example, the character chooses to go to a Shinto shrine to buy a lucky talisman. This references a religion (Shintoism) and a cultural object (omamori) that are common in Japan, but not in America.

Character & Setting

Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS): 8.7.b

analyze how characters' motivations and behaviors influence events and resolution of the conflict;

Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS): 8.7.d

explain how the setting influences the values and beliefs of characters.

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