Flat And Round Character Definition

Every fictional person that populates books, movies, and plays falls into one of ii categories: flat characters and circular characters. Apartment and round characters each fill of import roles in works of fiction, and while this isn't the only style to categorize fictional characters, it'southward a useful distinction to help guide your own graphic symbol writing.

What is a round graphic symbol? What is a apartment character? It has goose egg to do with their shapes—the two terms are prepare apart based on the character's depths and complexities. Mostly, the main characters are round, and the supporting ones are flat—but you'll presently see this isn't always the case.

Let's take a look at the distinction between flat character vs. round graphic symbol. Along the fashion, we'll include tips for writing each category and look at copious examples in literature.

Round Character Definition: What is a Circular Character?

A circular character describes whatever grapheme whose depth and complexities are apparent throughout the story. Round characters exhibit the psychological complicatedness that all of united states of america share as human being beings.

Round character definition: whatsoever character whose depth and complexities are credible throughout the story. Round characters exhibit the psychological complicatedness that all of us share as human beings.

Of course, writing a round graphic symbol is easier said than done. In order for a fictional homo existence to reflect the complexities of real earth people, the writer must unravel several aspects of human psychology in that grapheme. Most round characters will have the following:

External disharmonize: No 1 gets along with everyone, and your character will feel very disagreeably about certain people and personalities.
Internal conflict: Many characters are their ain obstacles. A practiced round grapheme will have their own flaws, insecurities, philosophies, and problems to overcome.
Desires and motives: The disharmonize of a story is generated from your protagonist having sure desires and motivations which are not easy to obtain. These motives can be physical, emotional, cloth, and/or philosophical.
Contradictions: Truly complex characters are riddled with internal contradictions. For example, a grapheme might desire honey, but push away every potential suitor that tries to give them that love.
Speech patterns: The dialogue of a round character is informed by their personality, the region they grew upwards in, their profession, their generation, their quirks of voice communication, and fifty-fifty the words they just like and dislike.
Backstory: When we commencement see a character, they are usually an adult or, at the youngest, a teenager. Since nosotros don't follow the character's life from the moment they are built-in, that grapheme'due south backstory is essential to understanding their complexities, traumas, feelings, desires, and flaws.
Relatable traits: Most round characters are relatable, if not likable. Something virtually them must be relatably human for the reader to connect with them on a personal level.
Fatal flaws: Likewise known as a hamartia, a character's fatal flaw is the thing that prevents them from growing and overcoming the obstacles necessary to their successful resolution of the conflict.

Exercise note that some characters might not have all of the above components, such as a fatal flaw or internal contradictions, depending on their place in the story. Nonetheless, these items seem similar a lot to fit into 1 graphic symbol, right? Later on, we'll talk over some tips for crafting constructive circular characters.

Who is the circular character in literature? More often than not (simply not always), main characters are round. This includes your protagonist and perchance their closest relationships, but it also includes your story'south antagonist, too.

Round Character Examples

The following round graphic symbol examples come up from classic works of literature. Note: we exercise non analyze each character'south speech patterns, as information technology would have far as well long to detail how a person's speech is informed by their entire life.

Quentin Compson in The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner

The Sound and the Fury is a novel well-nigh the Compson family'due south fall from grace in the postbellum due south. The novel is cleaved upward into four sections, each department focusing on a different singular twenty-four hours and a different person'southward story. Quentin, the most intelligent of the Compsons, is a freshman at Harvard who grapples with bug of justice, purity, and meaninglessness in the world. He is obsessed with Caddy, his sister, whom he tries and fails to protect from the awful facts of life.

External disharmonize

Virtually of Quentin'due south relationships are antagonistic. His father burdens him with an overwhelming sense of nihilism. He is overly protective of Caddy, whom he loves, which fosters his hatred of Dalton Ames, who may have impregnated Caddy. He also finds Caddy's brief husband, Herbert Head, repulsive. Nonetheless, none of these conflicts materialize during the present solar day that Quentin's story is narrated.

Internal conflict

Quentin's big internal earth is, in part, his fatal flaw. Quentin thinks critically and seriously about everything to the point of insanity, not unlike Shakespeare's Village. He obsesses over concepts similar justice, purity, and the meaninglessness of life, often searching for a reason to stay alive. He believes in justice and chivalry, finding hope in the purity of people like his sister Caddy. And however, Caddy is, in Quentin's eyes, no longer pure, due to her sexual promiscuity and condition equally a single mother. By fixating on the perceived injustice of Caddy'due south impurity, Quentin drives himself crazy searching for meaning and value in an inherently meaningless world.

Desires and motives

Quentin desires significant, order, justice, and purity. He is motivated by a search for reason, value, and beauty in the earth.

Contradictions

Despite assertive in justice and chivalry, Quentin's relationship to Caddy is rather patronizing and possessive. He wants Caddy's purity for himself. At i bespeak, he lies to his father that he and Caddy take committed incest, hoping his father will blackball the two of them so they can exist exiles with each other. Quentin hopes that, by being responsible for Caddy'due south sin, he tin can absolve her of impurity and brand her his reason for being alive.

Backstory

Quentin's family has lost its honor and prestige since the terminate of the American Civil State of war. The Compsons take lost much of their wealth and are ridiculed by townsfolk. Quentin himself laments the S's loss in the Civil State of war. While these details are non immediately relevant to Quentin's backstory, they inform his strained family unit relations: his nihilistic father, his unhappy siblings, and his search for significant in a globe that seems to take abandoned him.

Relatable traits

Quentin's desire for justice is beauteous. Additionally, Faulkner writes much of Quentin's story using stream of consciousness, which gives the reader a clear window into Quentin'south thoughts, feelings, and reactions to the globe. Of course, Quentin is hardly likable in the modern age, because his willingness to lie near incest, his obsession with Caddy'southward virginity, and his desire for a slaveholding South. But, his need for significant in the world is certainly relatable to most, a common trait of many round character examples.

Fatal flaws

Quentin thinks too much. He obsesses to the point of insanity, driving himself mad with abstract thoughts and memories. Additionally, Quentin's desire for justice and purity is ironic, given that these desires stem from a selfish need for social club and honour. Eventually, Quentin'south disability to find justice and meaning in the world drive him to suicide.

Ivan in The Brothers Karamazov past Fyodor Dostoevsky

Impossible to summarize, The Brothers Karamazov is a novel most the 3 sons of a small town'southward wealthy but crass "sponger." Ivan, the middle kid, is both deeply intelligent and deeply troubled. He is an academic and essayist, and ofttimes talks nearly issues of religion, atheism, and man'south cruelty. He is in love with the fiancée of his brother, Dmitri.

External disharmonize

Ivan does not like most people. He thinks his male parent is a buffoon, he dislikes Dmitri's hedonism, and he regards his brother Alyosha—the novel's lovable protagonist—with picayune appreciation. Most of Ivan's problems are internal, even so.

Internal conflict

Ivan is securely discomforted by man'due south cruelty. He often laments the awful reality of homo nature. Because of this, Ivan is deeply atheistic, equally he believes no omnibenevolent God would allow for the suffering of innocent people. These beliefs contribute to his afterwards psychosis in the novel. He begins to hallucinate conversations with the Devil, and in these conversations, Ivan constantly revokes the idea of a higher ability. Nevertheless, the "Devil" makes Ivan confront the reality that logic alone cannot heal the earth. For a brief menses of the novel, Ivan goes insane as a consequence of these dialogues.

Desires and motives

Behind Ivan's aloofness is a strong sense of idealism, and a want to mend the globe's suffering. Additionally, Ivan desires the love of Katarina, his brother'south fiancée.

Contradictions

Ivan seeks to mend the world's suffering, just he himself contributes to that suffering. In his aloofness and pretensity, Ivan locks himself into the globe of his mind, doing footling to convalesce the suffering of others. Additionally, at 1 point he tells a family retainer that aught humans do ever results in real consequences, which encourages that servant to impale Ivan'southward father.

Backstory

Ivan, like his brothers, grows up emotionally estranged from his begetter. Each blood brother confronts this estrangement in different ways, only for Ivan, he becomes increasingly sensitive to the suffering of others and increasingly aware of his inability to aid. A built-in philosopher and thinker, Ivan retreats into his mind and tries to intellectualize human being'south inherent cruelty, constantly thinking almost the fate of mankind.

Relatable traits

Although Ivan comes off as aloof and pretentious, he has a deep seated hatred for the suffering of mankind. His reaction to suffering isn't ever logical, just and then over again, whose is?

Fatal flaws

Ivan'southward reliance on logic is also his downfall. He tries to intellectualize suffering and pain, but logic is not the only mode to understand man psychology. Additionally, Ivan uses logic equally a means of distancing himself from his own emotions, which don't abide past logic. Despite Ivan's atheism, he cares a lot nearly the fate of mankind, and ane can argue he secretly desires a God to worship anyway. Ivan's reliance on logic contributes to his psychosis, which he cannot intellectualize his fashion out of.

Jane Eyre in Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

Jane Eyre, the titular protagonist of Jane Eyre, is a headstrong and resilient woman in 19th century England. Jane'southward novel charts her path from an abusive childhood to a life of her own choosing, and her independence and strong sense of justice testify quite controversial for the civilisation of her time period. Jane'southward grapheme and life are difficult to summarize, every bit Jane Eyre is 1 of the first novels to discuss its protagonist'due south social, moral, and psychological development with swell depth and clarity.

External conflict

Jane grows upward in an abusive family and also has a headstrong nature, so she routinely encounters conflicts with other people who try to influence how she should deport. Jane's aunt and cousins are spiteful; her headmaster and many of her teachers are likewise keen on guilt and punishment. Jane's employer and eventual hubby, Edward Rochester, both teases Jane and makes her jealous with other women, while also having a undercover wife. Finally, Jane's cousin, St. John Rivers, proposes to marry Jane, but just out of duty, not dear. Each of these conflicts shape Jane's character and help her form a sense of cocky and a personal philosophy in a cold, often selfish earth.

Internal conflict

Jane's atrocious childhood shapes much of her internal disharmonize. The cryptic relationship she had with her family shapes much of her future relationships: on the one hand, she desires dear, intimacy, and connection; on the other, she desires her freedom and independence. On top of this, the level of trust involved in meaningful relationships, particularly with men, demands more of her than she is sometimes willing to give. This constant conflict betwixt desiring others and prioritizing the self recurs throughout the novel, and also informs some of the novel'south themes of feminism and sexuality.

Desires and motives

Jane desires both independence and connection. These competing desires influence her many decisions throughout the novel.

Contradictions

As stated higher up, Jane'southward competing desires make her difficult to understand as a graphic symbol. Difficult, but non impossible: if anything, the reader can relate to Jane's resolve to be herself and desire for connexion. These two motives may contradict each other, but more specifically, they coexist in a adult female who struggles to navigate the social realities of 19th century England.

Backstory

Much of Jane'south backstory has been summarized above, only information technology'due south important to understand that, on top of her horrible family, Jane's schooling was also a very lonely experience. She and the other students were oftentimes publicly shamed for pocket-size wrongdoings, and they were frequently neglected of food, medicine, and care. At one point, this neglect contributes to the death of Jane's good friend Helen.

Relatable traits

A major aspect of Jane Eyre's enduring success as a novel is the likability of Jane. She is unapologetically herself, peculiarly in a gild which tries to control women's behavior. She is earnest both in her independence and her desire for intimacy. When she doesn't receive the care she seeks and deserves, her adverse reactions, though intense, experience familiar to readers of all stripes.

Flat Character Definition: What is a Apartment Character?

In contrast to a round character, a flat graphic symbol lacks the depth, complexity, and dash typically reserved for protagonists and antagonists. That's not to say the grapheme lacks depth entirely, only that their depth is not crucial to the story. Flat characters fulfill a specific function, ofttimes an archetype, for the purpose of advancing the plot.

Flat grapheme definition: a character who fulfills a specific function, often an archetype, for the purpose of advancing the plot.

Flat characters populate both literary and genre fiction, simply they are often (not always) a key characteristic of genre fiction protagonists. Sherlock Holmes, for example, is a decisively intelligent character, but his interior life and personal emotions are irrelevant to solving the story'south mystery, then the reader simply has access to his speech patterns, logical listen, and problem-solving prowess.

What are the traits of flat characters? These include:

Understandable: Nuances, contradictions, and complexities aren't necessary for these characters.
Predictable: If you drib a apartment grapheme in the center of any scene, you tin predict what kind of response they will have.
Easy to summarize: You can explicate a flat graphic symbol in a few adjectives or sentences. For case, here'south a description of Sam Spade from The Maltese Falcon: Wry, jaded, and driven, Sam Spade is San Francisco's finest and grittiest private investigator.
Plot driven: The decisions that these characters brand are meant to accelerate the plot. While a round character's decisions drive the plot, it is the plot which decides the deportment of flat characters.
Congenital on tropes and archetypes: Often, these sorts of characters act upon tropes and archetypes. For example, a flat engineer might be dry, awkward, and focused on piece of work; a flat prom queen might be pretty, sociable, and elitist.

Flat characters populate both works of literary and genre fiction. In genre fiction, these characters might be the protagonist and antagonist; in literary fiction, these characters are usually secondary or 3rd, simply still important to advancing the story's plot.

Flat Character Examples

The following flat character examples come from archetype works of literature.

Hercule Poirot, a recurring character in Agatha Christie's mystery novels

Hercule Poirot is Agatha Christie'southward most renowned protagonist. In novels like Murder on the Orient Express and The ABC Murders, Poirot's deft agreement of homo psychology paves the way for his catchy, exciting detective work. Additionally, his quirks of speech and distinct mustache have made him an icon for both literature and murder mystery TV.

Understandable

Poirot is an easy character to understand because his goal is always to dissect man behavior and solve mysterious crimes.

Predictable

After you've read a few of Agatha Christie's novels, you understand that Poirot is economic with information and peachy at setting upwards psychological traps.

Plot driven

Everything Poirot does is to grab the murderer. The pursuit of justice drives Poirot's actions and investigations.

Built on tropes and archetypes

Poirot is a distinctly original character, but his intelligence, wit, psychological prowess, and quirky detective beliefs are all entertaining conventions of the murder mystery genre. Poirot is an archetypical flat character example of mystery fiction.

Madame Defarge in A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

Madame Defarge is the chief antagonist of A Tale of Two Cities. She is cold, ruthless, and cynical. Defarge tirelessly works to bring down the royalty and the bourgeoisie during the French Revolution, having been hurt repeatedly by French aristocrats. She symbolizes both the Reign of Terror and the Fates, as she uses her knitting to encode messages about whom the revolutionaries will kill next.

Understandable

Defarge's motivations and behavior are like shooting fish in a barrel to encompass. Her own family unit has been killed past the Evremondes, an aloof family, and her sister was sexually assaulted every bit well. It's possible to debate that Defarge's motives are complex, given that her tireless need for revenge extends to the innocent family unit members of the Evremondes. Yet, revenge drives Madame Defarge.

Predictable

Defarge'due south nature equally a tireless, ruthless, driven revolutionary makes her a anticipated character to follow. It is unsurprising that she tries to kill Charles Darnay, ane of the novel'due south protagonists, despite his innocence; his association with the Evremonde family unit is reason plenty to kill him.

Plot driven

Madame Defarge's role every bit the novel'due south adversary helps drive the novel to a shut. Because she imprisons and tries to execute Charles Darnay, a unlike and similar looking character, Sydney Carton, decides to trade places with Charles and receive his execution. This allows the novel, and specifically Carton, to muse on questions of expiry, progeny, and hope for mankind.

Built on tropes and archetypes

Considering A Tale of Two Cities was written before the modern day conventions of genre fiction, it would be hard to debate she'due south filled with tropes. Nevertheless, her tireless rage and search for revenge is typical of many antagonists in both literary and genre fiction.

Nick Lesser in A Midsummer Dark's Dream by William Shakespeare

Nick Bottom is a comic relief character in A Midsummer Night's Dream. A trickster fairy, Puck, accidentally turns Nick's head into a donkey's. Split up from this, Oberon, the jealous Fairy King, casts a spell on the Fairy Queen Titania to make her fall in love with the start thing she sees, and likewise to awaken when something vile comes near. Titania'southward romance with the donkey-faced Bottom, also as Bottom'due south continuous bumblings and verbal errors throughout the play, drive much of the play'due south one-act.

Understandable

Like other comic relief characters, the audition understands that Bottom's role is to screw things up and, quite literally, make an donkey of himself.

Anticipated

Comic relief characters in Shakespeare'south plays are distinct for their situational irony, their sexual jokes, and their frequent employ of puns.

Plot driven

Bottom appears with nearly every grapheme at some betoken or another in the play. Despite this, his actions are entirely plot driven, equally he must scare abroad sure characters, miscommunicate to other characters, or act in A Midsummer Night's Dream'due south play-within-a-play.

Congenital on tropes and archetypes

Nick Bottom is a typical comic relief character of Shakespeare's. Shakespearean plays needed to appeal to people of all social strata, then while his plays ofttimes involved primary characters who explored deep, complex, and literary themes, comic relief characters ofttimes provided the opposite, entertaining the audience (and peculiarly the lower class audience) with earthy humour.

Flat Character vs. Round Grapheme

What are the differences between apartment characters and round characters?

A round grapheme is:

Fully developed—the reader has access to their thoughts, feelings, complexities, conflicts, internal contradictions, hopes, desires, etc. We know what makes a circular character seem like a living man being.
The driver of the plot—the story advances considering of the decisions that a round character makes. The story takes its shape because of this character's personality.
Flawed—it is essential for the reader to sympathize and connect with the round grapheme'southward flaws. If they were perfect, they probably wouldn't have a identify in the story.

By dissimilarity, a flat character is:

2 dimensional—the reader does non need admission to a flat character's interiority, complexities, or contradictions. But knowing their basic traits, conflicts, and desires is plenty to propel the story forrad.
Plot driven—the decisions made by a apartment character serve to advance the plot towards a specific conclusion. For example, they might practise something to solve the murder, advance the story's tension, or catalyst a round character along their own plotline.
Flawless—the flat character does not accept any flaws worth exploring. That'due south not to say they're perfect: they could exist twisted, evil, sinister, misinformed, or deeply disturbed. Simply, they practice non have whatever flaws which the story must address and resolve.

Flat Character vs. Round Character Venn Diagram

The distinctions betwixt a flat character vs. round grapheme are summarized in the following Venn Diagram.

Flat Character vs. Round Character Venn Diagram

Human relationship to Static and Dynamic Characters

Another common distinction in graphic symbol development is static and dynamic characters. A dynamic graphic symbol will modify as a result of the story'southward conflict and plot. Static characters, by contrast, do not change, either because they have no reason to alter or because their static nature is an intentional artistic conclusion.

Yous might presume that round characters are e'er dynamic, and flat characters are always static. While this is often true, at that place are instances of the opposite for both.

Y'all might presume that round characters are always dynamic, and apartment characters are ever static. While this is often true, there are instances of the reverse for both.

A good example of a static circular grapheme is Albus Dumbledore from the Harry Potter series. Dumbledore is certainly fleshed out as a character: we take access to his backstory, his complexities, his desires, and his flaws. Notwithstanding, he does not undergo significant change by the cease of the serial, because his role in the story is non to change: he is a (flawed) mentor for Harry.

To pull from the aforementioned serial, a proficient case of a dynamic flat character is Ginny Weasley. Ginny is certainly flat, as we don't often take access to her interiority or complexity, and she primarily exists as Harry's beloved interest or Ron's sister. Nonetheless, at the commencement of the series, Ginny seems shy and quiet. By the end of the series, she becomes much more confident and outspoken. However, this change isn't necessarily a reaction to the story's conflict (a key distinction for dynamic characters); Ginny merely grows upward.

To learn more, check out our article on Static Characters vs. Dynamic Characters.

More Resources: Writing Flat and Circular Characters

For more than resources on developing apartment and circular characters, take a look at the post-obit articles:

Graphic symbol Development Definition: A Look at 40 Character Traits
Capturing the Art of Storytelling: Techniques & Tips
What is Indicate of View in Literature? Exploring Narrative Point of View
Story Writing Do: What Does Your Character Want?
How to Write Dialogue in a Story

Develop Apartment and Round Characters at Writers.com

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