Character

Character is, to me, the most important part of a story. With the employment of flat and multi dimensional characters within the same story line, the reader or audience is able to relate with at least one person in the tale.

In Pride and Prejudice, Austen uses multi-dimensional characters such as Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy to embody a realistic and relatable representation of a true human being while using flat characters such as Mrs. Bennet, Lydia, and Lady Catherine De Burgh for either comic relief or conflict. Elizabeth, the protagonist, is given conflicting and emotions and difficult situations to deal with, thus revealing her personality and ability to formulate opinion. This rounded quality gives the reader a multi-dimensional character of interest. Similarly, Mr. Darcy is given the same ability to have a variety of traits to her character, consequentially allowing his persona the quality of being relatable in his decisions. On the contrary, characters such as Mrs. Bennet and Lydia give the reader a comic relief to all the drama that happens in the story. Their one-dimensional view toward life and society makes them good models of stupidity and portrays them as laughable personas. Another flat character, though used for a more serious reason, adds to the seriously problematic social hierarchy of the early English society that Austen makes her backdrop. Lady Catherine De Burgh gives the reader a villain to dislike because of her dialogue of consistent judgment and condescension. Through these two kinds of characters, Austen is able to make her story relatable and enjoyable to each reader.

In Hamlet, Shakespeare employs the same technique of character personalities to make the tragedy believable. Hamlet, the protagonist, and Horatio are probably the most multi-dimensional characters throughout the entire play. Their ability to change views based on situation is vastly different than any other character. Furthermore, Hamlet's continuous inner conflicts are also a reflection of his multi-dimensional persona. The flat characters Shakespeare tends to use are: Polonius and Ophelia. These two characters appear to be the representation of unintelligent views in the play. Both Polonius and Ophelia have their distinct, unchanging, perspectives on every situation in the entire play. Ophelia, a mostly passive and obedient character, and Polonius, a mostly doubtful and "know-it-all" character.