To Kill a Mockingbird
Character Types and Traits
(Class Handouts)
Name: __________________
Period: __________
Characters add to the excitement of a story, especially if the characters are interesting, engaging, and complex. Characters are
driven by motivation – the thing that makes a character behave as she does and reveals her personality.
The chart below lists the
TYPE
TRAITS
WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE
Major
The main characters in the story (the protagonist, antagonist).
Protagonist
The main character in a story. This character faces some kind of conflict.
The conflict, whether it is internal or external, drives the plot of the
story forward.
Antagonist
This is the character (or force) against which the protagonist struggles
and must overcome.
Minor
(subordinate)
Flat
Round
Static
Dynamic
George has his eye on a farm he can purchase
but he needs the money to buy it (and,
therefore, he needs Lennie to lay low).
Character: Darth Vader is the antagonist, the
force against which Luke Skywalker struggles.
These are the characters who add depth and complication to the plot.
Only one or two character traits that are the sum of the character’s
definition.
More complex than a flat character because there are several sides to the
character and therefore more rounded.
The character is the same at the end of the story as they were in the
beginning. Usually this character is a subordinate (minor) character
whose role is to further the plot or help us understand the protagonist.
Events in the story do not alter a static character’s outlook, personality,
motivation, perception, habits, etc. (Sometimes stereotypical.)
A dynamic character grows or changes with the story. The change is
usually are result of the character’s struggle to resolve their conflicts; they
learn something about themselves or other people or the world. The
dynamic character’s changes directly contribute to the meaning of the
story.
Hedlund (CVHS) 2007 – adapted from Holt Literature and Language Arts Third Course (116-117).
Reading Standard 3.3: analyze interactions between main and subordinate characters, etc.
Cinderella’s stepmother is wicked and cruel.
She has no interest in Cinderella beyond free
labor.
Curley’s wife seemed to be selfish but she also
revealed her loneliness and isolation to Lennie.
Carlson does not understand George’s loss when
Lennie dies much as he did not understand Candy’s
sadness when his dog is shot (by Carlson).
Han Solo initially helps Luke Skywalker for the
money, but eventually he helps Luke and Leia
because he loves them and believes the rebels
should succeed.
To Kill a Mockingbird
Character Types and Traits
(Class Handouts)
Name: __________________
Period: ________
Purpose: We will put into practice our understanding of character types and their purpose by using characters from To Kill a
Mockingbird to fill in the following chart.
Character
Character Type
Scout
Protagonist
Traits
Complex character who is involved not only as the
narrator, but it is her journey out of childhood during
the three years of the story that is the main conflict.
Hedlund (CVHS) 2007 – adapted from Holt Literature and Language Arts Third Course (116-117).
Reading Standard 3.3: analyze interactions between main and subordinate characters, etc.
Contribution to Plot