Character and Characterization

Character
Character is the important part in the story. Characters are not only persons, but also the elements of nature such as wind, waves, grasses, or even animals. The story will exist only because these things will be treated as if they were human rather than as what we know they are in nature, with exception of stories with animals as characters.

Fictional characters as either flat or round. A flat character is built around a single trait, quality, or idea. This type of character is immediately recognizable and never changes or surprises us. A round
character, on the other hand, satisfies our sense of the actual richness and complexity of human nature. These characters are developed by the author; they change and grow. They often exhibit contradictory traits, and like real human beings, frequently surprise us.

Based on the role in novel, there are two kinds of characters: protagonist and antagonist. Protagonist is a character who dominates in the story/ character who brings the stand point of the author. This character is not necessarily good character, however mostly they have goodness, patience, and kindness. The other is antagonist, it is simply the opposite of the protagonist one, thus, it is defined as character/s who against the protagonist.

Characterization
Term characterization refers to the techniques of creating characters for a narrative,including the process of conveying information about them.

a. The explicit presentation (discursive/ direct method)
In this technique, the author directly shows/ describes the characteristics of each characters
e.g. Andi is a good and generous boy who diligently saves his money in a bank. 
b. The presentation of the character by showing things that reveal the personality of a character. (dramatic/ indirect method) such as:

• Speech 

What does the character say? How does the character speak?

• Thoughts

What is revealed through the character’s private thoughts and feelings?

• Effect on others toward the character.

What is revealed through the character’s effect on other people? How do other characters feel or behave in reaction to the character?

• Actions

What does the character do? How does the character behave?

• Looks

What does the character look like? How does the character dress?

Through those elements (all or part or even just one element) the readers are challenged to draw their own conclusions about the characteristics that attached to certain character.