《Character 文学原理教程课件》.ppt

Analyzing Character Who is the protagonist of the work and who ( or what ) is the antagonist? Describe the major traits and qualities of each. What is the function of the work’s minor characters? 3. Identify the characters in terms of whether they are flat or round, dynamic or static. 4. What methods does the author employ to establish and reveal the characters? Are the methods primarily of showing or telling? 5. Are the actions of the characters properly motivated and consistent? 6. Are the characters of the work finally credible and interesting? Astronomer’s Wife Katherine Ames  Mrs. Ames is the focus of the story. She is married to an astronomer whose distant, overly intellectual nature has caused her to resent him. She is the astronomer’s only real link with the day-today world, but she means little to him beside that. Longing for someone who is not wholly immersed in the life of the mind, she is intrigued by and attracted to the plumber, who stands for everything physical. Mr. Ames / The Astronomer The astronomer is married to Mrs. Ames. The narrator of the story says of the astronomer that “he was a man of other things, a dreamer.” He spends his life examining the heavens and attempting at all times to remain as high above the earth as possible — Mrs. Ames says that he likes being “on the roof or on the mountains. He’s been up on the tops of them many times.” He never physically appears in the story, and readers only hear from him once when he yells that there is a problem for Mrs. Ames to solve. For Mrs. Ames, he is “the mind of all mankind.” The Plumber The plumber is the astronomer’s diametric opposite. Where the astronomer prefers to be up high, the plumber goes down into the pipes below the ground. He is described by his physical attributes, and at one point the narrator suggests that he is “brutal,” clearly playing on the animal meaning of the word “brute.” Mrs. Ames is attracted to him for his physicality, but at the same time he pays attenti