Write the short story: how to create a dynamic character profile
Characters from the world of history deserve our full attention, as they are the active agents that drive the plot of a story. Whatever their role in a narrative, the characters give us a front row seat for all the action. They are the eyes and ears of the world of history, and it is through their storytelling that we experience the world of history. We love characters, whether we are reading about them in a book or watching them on television or in a movie.
The narrative function of characters
Most stories tend to focus on the hero, so the supporting characters, such as the villain, the princess, and the helper, function as an extension of the hero’s universe. The villain opposes the hero. The princess needs to be rescued. The helper provides much-needed help and support for the hero.
A brief description of the history of the archetypal characters and their narrative functions.
In any type of story, the narrative consists of seven archetypal characters as outlined by Russian folklorist Vladimir Propp in his extensive study of Russian folklore and fairy tales.
Here are Propp’s conclusions:
1. The roles of the characters serve as stable and constant elements in a story, regardless of how and by whom they are performed. They constitute the fundamental components of a story.
2. The number of known functions of the fairy tale is limited.
3. The sequence of functions is always identical.
4. All fairy tales are of one kind when it comes to structure. * The hero accepts a call to undertake a mission, experiences a conflict with a villain. The hero receives magical help throughout his journey, meets some helpers who join his search, and meets a princess who needs to be rescued.
* Propp in Turner 1988, p. 69.
Here are the seven archetypes identified by Propp:
The hero
The false hero
The donor (or provider)
Assistants
The princess (or wanted person) (sometimes accompanied by her father)
The dispatcher (the person who sends the hero on his journey)
The villain
Analyzing archetypal characters
To analyze the archetypal characters above, I am going to use the entertainment medium of film making to predominantly draw my examples. Of course, there are many excellent examples in the literature, but I think filmmaking has a greater potential for overall story saturation. And most of us are familiar with movie references anyway. To identify the archetypal characters of Propp in a modern setting, I am going to use the main cast of the Star Wars saga.
The Hero – Luke Skywalker
The False Hero – Darth Vader
The Donor – Obiwan Kenobi
The Helper / s – Han Solo and Chewbacca / C3PO
The Princess – Princess Leia
The dispatcher – R2D2
The Villain – Darth Vader
To demonstrate how to create a dynamic character profile, I will choose the fake hero and the princess.
From the Star Wars In the franchise we have seen the development of Darth Vader’s character, from the conflicted and misguided ‘false hero’ Anakin Skywalker, to his evolution as a villain. As a child, he was innocent and sweet, and he had a tragic life, and we felt sorry for him, and we looked forward to his bright future as an extraordinary lightsaber – the Jedi Knight. But alas, we were very wrong, or at least some of us tried to be shocked and dismayed by Anakin’s descent into darkness, after the considerable gap between the original and the most recent. Star Wars films. But Anakin was the false hero and his son, Luke, would be the true hero.
What is your opinion here? Do you think it is possible to have two heroes in a narrative?
Another example of a fake hero can be drawn from the well-known classic story that has also made a billion dollar crossover with a movie franchise:The Lord of the rings. Who is the false hero in this narrative? You may not agree, but I think it’s Gollum.
Before becoming the pathetic miserable and ring-obsessed creature Gollum, Smeagol was just a normal hobbit who had discovered a magic ring, similar to Bilbo and Frodo. But once the ring consumed him with evil, he became a false hero and, in a way, a villain as well. Of course he could have been the hero of the story, like Frodo, but his choice relegated him to the role of the false hero.
Like the real hero, the fake hero will have to go on a journey and make a decision. But he will waver on his journey, allowing the true hero to step forward. Sometimes the false hero is used as a “red herring” or as a clever narrative device to confuse the reader or viewer and keep them guessing.
The princess
The character of ‘princess’ is of great importance to me. During my college trip I submitted a creative thesis / project that looked at the true purpose behind many fairy tales, in particular the Brothers Grimm tales. My discovery was that many well-known fairy tales were originally designed as literary commentaries on socio-political issues at the time of their creation.
After reading many fairy tales, I found out that the princess was predominantly depicted as a passive female character who is trapped in a tower, poisoned by an evil witch, or the victim of a deadly curse. But in modern narratives, we see that many female characters, especially in film, are designed to challenge the audience’s traditional expectations of gender roles.
In books, movies, and video games, we now meet female characters who don’t always depend on being rescued by a prince and often dominate much of the action on screen. Think Charlie’s Angels gold Kill bill gold tomb Raider.
Character profiles of the princess in traditional fairy tales.
The damsel in distress
In this representation, the hero sets out on his quest and meets a damsel / princess in distress. She rescues her from an evil witch, who has held her captive in a tower or cast a spell that puts the hapless princess to sleep for a hundred years.
The wanted princess
In many fairy tale representations, a conflicting princess is also the instigator of the hero’s quest. Once upon a time there was a beautiful princess who could only be rescued from her trap by a young, rich and handsome prince. After many battles with an evil nemesis, they finally get their ‘happily ever after’ ending.
The rebellious and self-sacrificing princess
The Wizarding World of Walt Disney has filled our imaginations again with some innovative examples of rebellious and self-sacrificing princesses. The siren in love, Ariel, who disobeys her father, King Triton, in The little Mermaid, which was originally written by Hans Christian Andersen. And also Princess Jasmine in Aladdin.
The bold and brave princess
In the French fairy tale ‘Beauty and the Beast’, the pure-hearted beauty sets out to rescue her father from a terrifying beast that lives in a cursed castle. And of course we know the end of the story: Beauty’s magical tears transform the Beast into his true self: a prince. A great example of an active fairytale princess considering it was originally built in the 19th century.
The profile of the princess character in modern narratives
The princess in a romantic comedy
The princess in many Hollywood romantic comedies is often the main love interest pursued by her admirer or a hero in love. There are challenges to her love, or the princess continually rejects the hero until he finally conquers her. In the end, they get their happy ending.
The princess-heroine
The princess is a passive recipient of tragedies or some kind of injustice, but she takes up the challenge, either alone or joins the hero, like a crime-fighting team. In this representation, the princess becomes a heroine. Think: Cinderella / Drew Barrymore on Forever o Batgirl / Alicia Silverstone in Batman and robin.
Radical changes in female characterization provide the archetypal princess with the opportunity to take control of the narrative and embark on a quest to free herself from cultural and socio-political powerlessness, or unsavory aliens who have acid for blood. A good example would be Ripley in the Alien movie franchise, especially the first two movies. Ripley was the last woman standing among all the well-trained Marines with weapons, and she transformed into a nearly indestructible fighting machine. She is considered an innovative character for women in the cinema.
The Hunger Games The heroine, Katniss Everdeen, has become an iconic symbol of bravery and courage for young women. She is an excellent example of how one person can stand up to injustice and inspire others to do the same.
These profiles of modern history characters show the change from traditional depictions of the archetypal trapped princess to a dynamic and active character in the world of history. Of course, that doesn’t mean the hero-prince is powerless, but both the hero-prince and the hero-princess play an important role in fictional storytelling.
Regardless of how you choose to portray your characters, by learning the history of archetypal characterization and the roles of different characters, you can create a dynamic character profile that will captivate your reader.
Happy writing!
Reference:
Turner, Graeme 1988 ‘Film Narrative’, Film as Social Practice, Routledge, London.
