Lesson 2 Discussion

Tell which of the two schools of thought on describing a character’s physical attributes you prefer. Why do you prefer this school over the other?

My Preference
I prefer the second school of thought. The reason is fairly simple. It makes the character’s mental image more concrete. Therefore, I don’t have Scarlett O’Hara or Angelina Jolie playing the lead just because she’s considered a beauty or a red-head. Secondly, I do not become the leading character myself which I feel is likely to occur in stories where “less is more”.

Example of Fully Developed Characters
The character to first come to my mind for reference is Madame Mathilde Loisel in “The Necklace” by Guy de Maupassant. We are told much about her and she changes dramatically from the start to the finish. In the beginning of the story she is young, fresh, and miserable. In the end she is no longer young and fresh, but old, tired, and haggard.

The second story that comes to mind is “The Ransom of Red Chief” by O. Henry. “The kid was a boy of ten, with bas-relief freckles, and hair the colour of the cover of the magazine you buy at the news-stand when you want to catch a train.” As we read the story, we find that the never-do-well kidnappers have made a horrible mistake. The color of boy’s hair foreshadows the his real personality.

Semi Off Topic Comments
I believe that when motion pictures are made of short stories or novels, the characters that were intended by the authors often become skewed. Therefore, in my Short Stories class at the high school, we read the stories first, made written character sketches secondly, and saw the films thirdly. Afterward, we debriefed the differences and drew conclusions. The students always said that the film characters rarely were in line explicitly with the written characters. Further, they admitted that the filmed characters were more likely to be remembered.

Next, I believe a short story’s strength may rest in its lack character minutia. In “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, the main character is Tessie Hutchinson. The story’s impact and horror is caused by the lack of details about Tessie. We only know that she is a mother and housewife who surely can’t leave her house with dirty dishes in the sink. Tess then becomes, I believe, every reader or every reader‘s mom. Therefore, at the end when Tessie wins (?) the lottery and she stoned by friends and family, we are appalled.