Winning Tips on How to Write a Literary Character Analysis

The article suggests some ideas that might help you with completing an essay set out to analyze a character. Get to know about three essential steps that will not let you go off the track when working on such an assignment.

These writing tips may be useful for high school and college students, as far as this type of essay can be frequently assigned at different grades of the educational process. While we do not ask you to go precisely step-by-step following only our ideas, you should be creative enough to apply your own innovative strategy to look over a certain character you have undertaken.

The Essay Structure

An analysis essay should be organized in the same manner as all the academic papers are shaped. The main components are:

1. The introductory section that usually includes some background on the issue and thesis statements.
2. The main body made up of three or four paragraphs on average.
3. Summary
4. Reference page

What to Write about in a Literary Analysis Essay?

Only the paper that is effective to deliver the writer’s message can be considered to be successful. Here are the goals that the literary analysis essay is aimed at. It performs a number of functions:

• First of all, it should introduce the hero and then determine his or her type of personality. There may be even three types of people you present to a reader.
• Secondly, the writer’s task is to scrutinize and describe the person you have decided to write about in your paper. Focus on the main traits and select appropriate adjectives to make the picture more vivid.
•  Thirdly, remember to refer to a plot of a story, and try to eliminate a conflict that arises. Additionally, you should reveal the role of the personage you are analyzing and determine the way this person’s character is developed through all the events.

Typology of Characters

Theorists of literature define various categories of heroes appearing in compositions. You may find out what kind of personage you look over according to the following division:

• Protagonist. This person is the main hero often having a positive image, but that is not necessarily a rule. It happens that the protagonist may also be a thief or a murderer. An author is the one who entitles the characteristics.

• Antagonists. An antagonist is always set against the main hero. It is a contrasting figure in the plot. Not only the villains are granted such a role, it may be even an animal or natural force portrayed as an antagonist.
• Major. There is a need to depict the major characters when a number of the main heroes appear.
• Minor. Authors use this type of heroes to make it more difficult for the protagonist to achieve the set goals adding up some accidental obstacles.
• Dynamic. This type of hero gradually changes throughout the story.
• Stereotypical. The category defines the figures with attached stereotypical characteristics represented quite often in books and in movies, for example, a very strict teacher or a fat policeman.

Look through the tips in the article and try to apply them to your own strategy of analyzing a character. Try to be creative and dig deeper when scrutinizing a personality. Think carefully of writer’s motives and reconcile it with what is written in a book. Feel free to contact our professional writing team to get assistance with any literary analysis paper!