Character traits of literary heroes. Description of the appearance of a literary character

Instructions

Characteristics of heroes can be of two types: individual and comparative. If you need to create an individual characteristics hero, start with a description historical era, which is discussed in the work. It has important, as it allows us to explain many actions hero. Tell us about social status hero. Describe the environment in which he was raised and in which his character was formed. For example, Evgeny Onegin grew up in an environment secular society, which affected his character, lifestyle, and attitude towards women. You know he's bored Savor, tired of beauties from high society, empty. That's why he became interested in Tatyana Larina, who was so different from them.

Describe in detail in the characteristics hero, clothes, appearance, manner of behavior. Usually manners or some unusual features in appearance hero are a means of revealing character. For example, Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov in “Hero” emphasizes the contradictions in Pechorin’s appearance: a slender, thin figure and broad shoulders, which proved his strong build. It helps us understand actions hero, also contradictory, ambiguous.

Actions hero, of course, needs to be described in the characteristics. For example, Pechorin flinched at the noise of the shutters, but was not afraid to go to the wild boar. Features of speech hero- an important component of the characteristics hero. Thus, Manilov’s kindly sentimental attitude, hero Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol " Dead Souls“, his speech reveals: “I would gladly give half of my entire fortune to have a part of the advantages that you have.”

Composing characteristics hero, pay attention to the character, his range of interests. For example, Pierre Bezukhov in Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy’s novel “War and Peace” is a man searching for his own path in life. The author describes his search and mental crises. Pierre goes from being fascinated by Napoleon's ideas to realizing that he is driving force. The image of Pierre is shown in development. If you are making up characteristics this hero, be sure to describe his search life path.

You can also note the author’s attitude towards his hero, if this is visible in the work. For example, if you are composing characteristics Tatyana Larina, the heroine of Pushkin's "Eugene Onegin", note the kind, sincere, careful attitude to her by the author. “Tatyana, dear Tatiana...” writes A.S. Pushkin.

Comparative characteristics allows us to understand hero through comparison. For example, to characterize Zhilin, hero works of Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy " Prisoner of the Caucasus", it is necessary through comparison with another hero, Kostylin. This will allow you to better understand the actions hero and reflected in the characteristics. At the end of the characterization, you can write your attitude towards the hero.

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Characteristic literary hero

Characterizing a hero involves compiling as complete a description of him as possible. The task of the author of the characterization is to systematize and summarize information about the hero and draw conclusions from it. Such work will show not only the analytical abilities, but also the thinking and speech skills of the writer.

You will need

- the work whose hero you are describing;
- critical literature about the work;
- information about productions this work and illustrations for it.

Instructions

Start your characterization with how the work introduces readers to the hero. Under what conditions does it appear, what impression is created when meeting it and what artistic techniques the author uses it. A good introduction would be information about the prototype of the hero, how the author came up with the idea of such an image.

Describe the hero. This applies to appearance, image, and type of activity. Your task is to select as much as possible all the descriptions of the author, phrases of other characters that relate to the hero, and analyze them. It is better to cite as quotes those that most clearly convey the image of a person, and express the rest with your own.

Go to the personal characteristics of the hero. Based on his behavior in the work, his actions, try to convey his worldview, determine personal qualities, aspirations, character. To strengthen your description, you can compare him with other persons in this work or indicate similarities with the heroes of other epics. But use this technique sparingly.
Is there any conflict in the character's personality? Make about the characteristics of this person and what the author wanted to convey with the help this image, what are the characteristics of the era or layer of the population. What is the attitude of the author himself towards the hero? Provide quotes from the work that support your thoughts. It’s also a good idea to use the opinions of different critics about the character being described.

Draw a conclusion. Specify own opinion about the hero, express your agreement or disagreement with the author. What feelings does this evoke in you personally: sympathy, joy, or something else? Note whether the hero is close to you in at least some way or is unclear, whether his image remains relevant in modern world, whether he had any influence on further literature, whether his name became a household name, whether artists and directors showed interest in him.

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800 characteristics of literary heroes! Materials for composition.

With the heroes of fairy tales by A.S. Pushkin's children get acquainted in the very early age. All the characters in fairy tales are very colorful and are remembered for a long time, and therefore it is not surprising that most of the characters were erected monuments in different corners our country and abroad.

Instructions

One of the most beloved works by children by A.S. Pushkin is “The Tale of the Fisherman and the Fish”. No wonder that main character- wish fulfiller Goldfish- immortalized in many cities. It is not a fact that everywhere it is installed in honor of the work of A.S. Pushkin, somewhere it’s just a symbol of the fact that wishes come true. One of the last to be erected was a monument to the fish in Astrakhan. Also, a bright fish on a sea crest was installed in Kemerovo. There is a wish fulfiller in both Donetsk and Abakan. In St. Petersburg, rich in sculptural compositions, we haven’t forgotten about this Pushkin heroine. In Moscow, on Manezhnaya Square, a fish was depicted together with the old man who caught it. In Voronezh there is also a sculpture of an old man who came to the sea to ask for help. In the clearing of fairy tales in Yalta too

Hello! Today we are talking about why we learn to describe appearance and how to characterize a literary character.

But you must admit, even detailed description appearance does not give any idea of a person as a person...

Appearances are deceptive!

Everyone knows this popular expression! The ancient Roman satirist Decimus Junius Juvenal wrote: “Frontis nulla fides,” i.e. There is no belief in appearance. In other words, good looks are absolutely does not guarantee that she belongs to a pleasant, kind-hearted person.

At the same time, I remember the words of Oscar Wilde: “Only superficial people do not judge a person by his appearance...” The writer was convinced: the anatomy of the head, arms, legs, ears, eyes, nose, favorite colors of clothes, smells and the like can tell about a person a lot, but only to those who... can read it.

To learn to recognize a person, his character, by his appearance, you need to learn to see not only the color of the eyes, the outline of the lips, physique, and clothing. In fact, the color of eyes, hair and skin, the shape of the nose, lips and head play a completely insignificant role in assessing a person.

The main thing is the EXPRESSION of a person’s face. A person's face can be cheerful or sad, angry or kind. The look is the same: indifferent, thoughtful, intent, attentive, dreamy, etc. Clothes are the same: in describing appearance, what is important is not what a person is wearing, but his manner of dressing, the condition of his clothes, etc.

Learning to see a person’s inner world, hidden behind his appearance, is the main task

The best way to learn is by example. The most best examples descriptions of appearance, of course, are descriptions . That's why in school when studying work of art so much time is devoted to characterization.

Writer is a master artistic word, knows how to find amazing words that help through verbal portrait understand inner world hero and explain his actions.

Analyzing appearance of a literary hero, Following the teacher’s instructions exactly, you create a kind of model or template in your head, which subsequently helps you evaluate the people around you, especially those you are just getting to know. You learn to pay attention to 2 - 3 bright details in a person’s appearance that distinguish him from other people, unmistakably characterize him and tell you about the person, his character, his inner world. This is how you become observant, attentive, and not at all a “superficial” person, as O. Wilde said.

Thus, a VERBAL DESCRIPTION of a literary character - an image of the character’s appearance (facial features, figures, manner of dressing, etc.) - is one of means of characterizing a literary hero. Besides, literary portrait hero is a way of expression author's attitude to the hero of the work.

When characterizing the hero of a literary work, you can use this rough plan:

The hero's place among other characters ( main character, minor).
Does the hero have a prototype, are there biographical features of the author.
Character `s name.
Portrait. The appearance of the hero as perceived by other characters.
Speech characteristics.
Description of household items, housing, living conditions, clothing.
Family. Life story. Occupation.
Character traits. How the hero changed during the development of the plot.
Actions in which the hero manifests himself most clearly.
Direct author's description.
The attitude of other characters in the work towards the hero.
Comparison with other characters or literary heroes of another author.
Evaluation of a literary character by his contemporaries.
Your personal attitude towards the character and this type of people in life.

It is not necessary to apply all points of the plan. This plan can be used to characterize any literary hero, not for any one individual.

Literature is our heritage. It is she who we must thank for the fact that from childhood we are instilled with the norms of culture and etiquette. But studying this subject for schoolchildren causes a lot of problems, especially if we're talking about about the essay. Surely everyone has had to write an analysis of the character after reading a literary work. How to do it? Where to begin? Just a lot of questions in my head. That is why we invite you to analyze the specification plan. We will do this on specific examples. We will definitely consider this type as literary heroes. We will definitely provide a plan and examples below.

Where to begin

Before proceeding directly to writing an essay, you need to develop a plan for characterizing a literary hero. If we don’t need to compare it with anyone, then it will look something like this:

Introduction.
A few words about the author and the work.
The role of the hero in the proposed work and his general description.
His views on specific problems of the work.
Relationships with other characters.
Conclusion.

Let us immediately note that the first two points can be combined. It is a common practice for the introduction to be dedicated to the work and its author. There is no need to add anything more. Be sure to divide the entire text into meaningful paragraphs. This way it is easier to perceive. Pay attention to such a technique as quoting, it is very important. We have looked at an approximate plan for characterizing a literary hero, but how to apply the acquired knowledge in practice? We suggest applying the above with an example.

Example

To begin with, let's take a simpler hero and a work in which all the problems are clearly defined. We offer the famous story “Mumu”, written by greatest author Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev. Of course, let's take the main character. The plan for characterizing the hero of a literary work, in our case Gerasim from the story “Mumu,” will look like this:

Introduction.
The appearance of the hero.
Personality and character.
Conclusion.

You can add more points at your discretion, but we will stop there. Carefully consider all the parts when you have drawn up a plan for characterizing a literary hero; it is better not to deviate from it, but strictly follow it in order. Here we will write briefly, to the bare minimum.

Introduction

The story “Mumu” by Ivan Sergeevich is not entirely fiction, the heroes Gerasim, Kapiton, the lady are everything real people, living on the Lutovinsky estate.

Turgenev not only retold the story with the janitor and his dog, but also endowed it with even greater meaning. The story was immediately perceived as anti-serfdom and caused a stunning impression.

Appearance

If we look at the plan for compiling the characteristics of a literary hero, we can notice the following point, dedicated to the external appearance of a person. The most interesting and time-consuming part of the work. We suggest that you refer to the text more and insert as many quotes as possible.

As the author shows us Gerasima: he is a serious and strict mute janitor who belongs to a lady who is a tyrant by nature. Ivan Sergeevich calls him a real Russian hero, because he is incredibly strong and less than five centimeters two meters tall.

Personality

From the lines of the work it becomes clear that Gerasim is a hardworking and responsible person with a strong physical body. He is unusual, which is confirmed by the lines: “... Of all her servants, the most remarkable person was the janitor Gerasim...”.

Another one distinguishing feature our hero - solitude, since he was lonely all his life, did not like people to come to him, lived separately from his brothers. He loves the countryside very much, prefers it to the city. So he grew up alienated all his life because of his illness (Gerasim was mute from birth) and grew into a strong and resilient hero, like a mighty tree.

He is a very respected person, worthy, knows his rights and responsibilities.

Conclusion

At this point it is necessary to summarize the essay.

The act of the janitor is very interesting; why did he drown the puppy he loved so much? He was the only living creature who reciprocated his feelings. This act can be interpreted as a protest against serfdom. I.S. Aksakov interpreted it as follows: “Gerasim is the personification of the entire Russian people, strong in spirit and physically, distinguished by incomprehensible meekness."

Developing character analysis writing skills requires careful reading of literary works, paying particular attention to what the author reveals about the character through dialogue, description, and plot. A literary analyst writes about the role each character plays in the work under review. The main character is called the protagonist, whereas the character who appears as the villain in the conflict with the main character is called the antagonist. Great writers create complex characters, so analysis must focus on these complexities. Here are some points to keep in mind when writing your own analysis.

Steps

Beginning of work

Choose your character. For a character analysis assignment in school, you may be asked to describe some literary character. But if you can choose, make sure that you tend to consider only those characters who play dynamic roles in the story. Dull and boring characters (one-dimensional, someone only "good" or only "bad", who do not consider any complex motivations) are not suitable choices for analysis.

For example, if you were reading Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn, you might choose Huck or Jim the runaway slave, since they are dynamic characters who display a wide range of emotions, and who often act unpredictably and move the story forward with their actions.
It would be less effective to choose a Duke or a King, the rogues that Huck and Jim meet in Arkansas, and since they play rather minor roles in the story, they do not show a wide range of emotions and are most likely just stereotypical individuals (the story needs comic relief). "detour" and the opportunity for Huck and Jim to separate so that Huck can enjoy that shameless moment when he makes his mischievous statement "Well, then I'll go to hell" and the Duke and the King play the role).

Read the story, paying special attention to your character. Even if you have already read this work before, you need to read it again, because... Now that you are faced with a specific task, you will be able to notice new features. Pay attention to any circumstances in which your character appears, and think through answers to the following questions:
- How does the author describe them?
  - With Huck Finn, for example, you might think that the author portrays Huck as a backwards boy from the backwoods, even though he clearly struggles with serious social issues such as slavery and religion.
- What kind of relationships exist between your character and other characters?
  - Think about how Huck treats the runaway slave Jim at the beginning and end of the novel? Think about Huck's attitude towards his drunken and abusive father? What shape did this give to his personality?
- How do your character's actions move the novel's plot forward?
  - Huck is clearly the main character, so it's clear that his actions are important. But, specifically, what is special about Huck’s actions? How he comes to decisions that are different from the decisions that other people might make in a similar situation. You could discuss Huck's decision to rescue Jim from the people who intended to return Jim to his owner because he decided that slavery was an injustice, even though this idea went against everything his society had taught him.
- What does your hero have to struggle with?
  - Consider how Huck grows and learns as the novel progresses. At first he fears that he will be caught cheating (such as faking his own death), but later he avoids the cheating he observes (as when he tries to throw off the cheating Duke and King).
Take notes. As you read the work a second time, write down the entire important information, which gives an idea of the main thing acting person as a person with deeper character. Make notes in the margins and underline important statements as you continue reading this piece.
- You can also keep a notepad ready as you read, this will help you stay on top of your thoughts about the character as you continue reading.
Choose your main idea. Collect all your notes about the chosen character and try to formulate the main idea that is reflected in them. This will serve as your thesis statement for your character analysis. Consider all the actions, their motivations and the outcomes of the main plot line. Perhaps your thesis idea will help reveal how in character young man reflects the stress of growing up and the inherent virtues of people. Perhaps your character's character shows readers that even people who make terrible mistakes are capable of and deserve redemption.
- In a situation Huck Finn, for example, you might emphasize something to do with the hypocrisy of civilized society, since it is essentially a novel about a boy who was raised to approve of the enslavement of blacks, but who decides, through his experience with Jim on the river, treat him as a person and as a friend, and not as a slave. Likewise, Huck's own father captures and "enslaves" Huck, from which Huck ultimately flees and mirrors Jim's own desire for freedom. Society considers Huck's flight morally justified and fair, while Jim's flight in the eyes of the townspeople is a terrible crime. This contradiction is the main problem of the novel.
Make sketches. Once you've decided on your main idea, create a quick outline of all your supporting materials. Mark the places in the text where your character exhibits the personality traits you included in your thesis statement. Include additional complicating facts in the sketch that will deepen the character's inner feelings.

Writing a Character Analysis

Write an introduction. Based on your thesis idea, prepare an introductory paragraph about the character you have chosen and the role he or she plays in this literary work.

Describe your character's appearance. Describe what your character looks like and explain what aspects of their appearance indicate their personality. Try to quote or paraphrase text taken directly from the book.

Think about torn clothes Huck and what this fact says about his character. Discuss how Huck dresses up as a little girl to gather news in town and how this changed appearance influences your analysis of Huck's personality.

Discuss your character's origins. If information is available, include facts. personal biography character (some of these details may be implied or inferred). People's life history inevitably influences their personality and their personality development, so it's important to discuss your character's development history if possible. Where and when was the character born and raised? What kind of education did your character receive? How does a character's past experiences influence what he does and says?
- Discuss Huck's relationship with his father, the Widow Douglas, and Miss Watson, who accepted him. How do these characters influence Huck's development? The contrast between Huck's alcoholic father and the conservative ladies who care for him later presents an interesting continuum of social behavior (continuous medium, continuous object) to analyze and think about where Huck's own beliefs and actions fall on this continuum.
Discuss the features of language use. Analyze the language used by the hero throughout the story. Does the character always use the same language or is it his/her choice? linguistic means changes throughout the story from introduction to conclusion?
- It must be admitted that Huck's address is too vulgar for a boy, and he often does not speak in a way that the Widow Douglas would approve of. He tries hard to obey her and behave accordingly in church, but he often makes mistakes and draws attention to himself by his actions and words, like a man whose level of civilization is far below the level he claims to be and which the Widow Douglas would approve of.
Description of the character's personality. Does the character act under the influence of emotion or reason? What values does he demonstrate through his words and lifestyle? Does the character have goals or ambitions? Give a specific answer and quote or paraphrase relevant text from the book.
- Huck Finn tries to obey the rules of society, but at the end of the day he acts based on his emotions. He decides to save Jim from being returned to his master, although this is against the law, as he believes that Jim does not deserve to be treated as a slave. Huck makes this decision on his own, in direct opposition to the values that society has taught him.
Analyze the character's relationships with other people. Think about how your character interacts with other people in the novel. Is the character a leader, or does he tend to follow others? Does the character have close friends and family? Provide examples from the text as you go through your analysis.

Describe how the character changes or grows throughout the story. Most of the main characters will experience conflict throughout the entire time period described in the novel. Some conflict is external (introduced by forces beyond anyone's control), while other conflict is internal (the character's personal experiences and his actions related to them). Does the character get better or worse in the end? In outstanding literary works memorable characters usually change or grow.
- Huck's external conflicts are based on the events of the journey down the river - the physical struggle with the surrounding conditions, his misadventures along the way, various scandals, and so on. His internal conflict reaches its climax when Huck decides to help Jim free himself. At this decisive moment, Huck follows his heart rather than the demands of society.
Gather supporting material or facts for analysis.