Character Change in Stories
Character changes can happen in any story. Authors may either state these directly, such as, “The girl was happy, but that was in another age.” This sentence shows change within the girl. At one point in her life she was happy, but since then things have happened to ruin that happiness. They may not always be as directly stated as the previous example. Sometimes the change is very gradual and the reader does not notice it until they have finished the story and look back at the beginning to see the character pre-change.
Hi and welcome to this video on character change.
Some characters change in a story. They start out being one way and end up being another way. An author can show a character changing to become something else during the story. The author might say that a child is scared at the beginning of the story, or the author might give the reader clues suggesting that the child is scared. Later in the story, the author might say that the child isn’t frightened anymore. The author might give clues that show the child is not scared anymore. The child has changed. The child was scared, but he or she is not scared any longer.
Often times the author wants the main character to have a character transformation. This transformation usually means that the character or characters learn something through what happens in the story. Because of what they learn or experience, the characters grow and become different than they were when the story began.
Think of your favorite story or book. In the course of the story the main characters probably change, learn, or grow because of what they experience.
For instance, read the following sentences and figure out how Tino changes:
“Tino was sure he would win the race, so he didn’t train very much for it. Then the day of the race came. Tino was way ahead, but he looked over his shoulder and saw someone coming fast. He gave a last burst of energy, but it wasn’t enough. Gene beat him. After that, Tino wasn’t as sure of himself as he had been before.”
Characters often change from the beginning of a story to the end of the story because something happens to change them. They may learn a lesson or find out something they didn’t know. In this story, Tino is sure he will win the race. He doesn’t think he needs to train for it. During the race, Tino is way ahead, but Gene catches up to him. Gene beats Tino. After this, Tino isn’t as sure of himself. This is how Tino changes. He changes from being sure of himself to being not so sure of himself. Tino learns a lesson, and that changes him.
I hope that helps. Thanks for watching this video lesson, and until next time, happy studying.