Read on for some good examples of good character development. 1. Mr Darcy – Pride and Prejudice Let’s start with one of Jane Austen’s most famous leading men, Mr Darcy. We see him primarily from the perspective of Elizabeth Bennet, who doesn’t exactly view him as her potential future husband after their first meeting.
We're able to detect character development in two ways: through direct characterization, which is the portrayal of characteristics through straightforward statements from characters or the narrative voice, or by indirect characterization, the portrayal of characteristics through that person's words, thoughts, deeds, interactions, or appearance.
I’ve put together a list of flawed, well-developed characters in famous literature, all of whom came out the other end of a story with new personas and new perspectives (or didn’t make it out the other end at all). Read on for some good examples of good character development. 1. Mr Darcy – Pride and Prejudice
Just like the people we encounter every day, most literary characters undergo changes, some of which can be rather dramatic. For instance, there is the tale of Saul, the early Christian persecutor who eventually becomes Paul, one of the greatest apostles and saints of Christendom.
As we get older, learn new things, and do new things, we all undergo certain changes that help make us who we are. When this happens to people in literature, it's known as character development, or the collective observable changes in an individual's defining characteristics over the course of a narrative.
You've probably seen all sorts of things develop in your lifetime: pets, land, even film (unless you've only used a digital camera). You've most likely witnessed a number of people develop, too - yourself included.
Character development is the process of creating this persona, then changing and adapting it in correlation to the events of a story. As readers we get to know and understand characters, watching them deal with a multitude of situations.
His pride, vanity, carelessness and conceitedness are a part of his character before the reader is introduced to him. These characteristics lead him through a natural descent into self-destruction – all because he wanted to remain beautiful forever. Image via Unsplash. 3.
In the epilogue, when they return to the Shire to discover that Saruman has taken over, they decide to fight back without hesitation, and lead a small army of hobbits to take back their home. ‘The sword glinted in the westering sun.
During the second book, he enters the world of Inkheart and is forced to take the name of Bluejay.
Both the reader and Elizabeth get to know and understand that Mr Darcy is the way he is largely because of social awkwardness. Mr Darcy also defends his character in a letter later on in the story, showing Elizabeth that he isn’t the man she once believed him to be.
The character development in The Picture of Dorian Gray is one of succumbing to madness and pride. When the reader is first introduced to Dorian Gray, he is a young, naïve, beautiful man, who is very aware of his beauty. He’s a shallow person who’s never given much thought to anything meaningful in life.
It wouldn’t be realistic if they stayed perfectly the same from beginning to end. A character doesn’t necessarily need to change much; just in a natural way that relates to the story. They can grow and better themselves, or see things in a new perspective. Or they may succumb to arrogance, hatred or madness.