There is still no consensus about what a literary image is. However, in school, in order to understand a specific image in a specific work, one cannot refuse to draw up a plan-characterization of the character. It is only necessary to approach this creatively, in order not only to study, but also to understand the portrait of the hero drawn by the author.
Instructions
Step 1
To reveal and study the image in the literature, you will not have enough knowledge that can be gleaned from real ideas about a person. Therefore, when compiling a characterization of a literary hero, always remember that the concept of "character" in everyday life and "character" as an artistic category is not identical.
Step 2
Start familiarizing yourself with the image of the hero according to the traditional plan. Find his portrait characteristics in the work and think about why the author notes these details of his appearance. It happens that the portrait of the character is completely absent in the work. Find out why, in this case, the writer refused to describe the character (with and without regard to the tendencies that existed and exist in the literature).
Step 3
Reveal the features of the hero's speech in terms of form and content. Think about how the themes of reflections and conversations of the hero overlap with the plot and theme of the work.
Step 4
Track the chain of the hero's interactions with other people. Consider if his attitude towards life and the world changes after meeting and talking with other characters.
Step 5
When analyzing and studying the image, do not forget about the author's position in the work. Determine how the hero's actions characterize his personality, and which of his qualities the author pays most attention to, and which other characters. Decide how this can be explained in terms of the author's position, and how this determines the character's inner world and his outer behavior.
Step 6
Determine the motives of the character's behavior, which will be fundamental in his characterization. Thus, the general characteristic should reflect three parameters:
- psychological motivation of the hero's actions, social and ethical orientation of his personality;
- the implementation of the character of the character in the system of relationships with other characters in the work;
- the attitude of the writer to the general motivation of the character's behavior and the embodiment of the author's position in the work.
