Character Traits and Trope Heavyweights

It's time to delve into the lifeblood of the story-- the character! And the millions upon millions of tropes that come with it!




Let's face it: characters are what draw us in. It is almost entirely unfeasible to craft a story without characters and it is the strong, fully developed characters that provide the tenants for the aforementioned story. Character and Plot are so intricately bound and correlated that it's impossible to alter one without changing the other. No other tool in the fictional universe is quite so imperative in storytelling as the character, which is why we'll be discussing it at length today.

A character is a person, animal, or object who expresses the story through actions, words, or thoughts. There can be one, two, or hundreds in just one piece of work and they all deserve enough characterization to lift them from the static unconsciousness of word or image and breathe life into them. We care about characters because they're Like Us: either directly (in the case of specific human characters who mirror the actions of audiences watching) or obliquely (in the case of otherwise inhuman characters who still retain human traits or communicate themes that touch people). They don't have to be inherently likable (we're not supposed to "like" the villains, but we should be able to grasp their underlying motives) or even good. They just have to be developed well enough that they seem real.

That's where tropes come in. A trope can be defined as both figurative language or a recurring motif in literature, film, television, animation, graphics, and every other medium you can imagine. We'll be evaluating the second definition today, which has become popularized with the creation of tvtropes.org, a website dedicated to cataloging and organizing tropes as they appear in media. You can research almost any of the above forms of entertainment and find every trope it contains, especially for characters.

For example, here is a list of characters from the 1993 film Jurassic Park and the tropes the website identifies them as:

Ellie-- Action Girl
Ian-- Deadpan Snarker
Arnold-- Mr. Fixit
Tim-- Made of Iron
Nedry-- The Mole
Muldoon-- Sacrificial Lion
Lex-- Whiz Kid
Alan-- Child Hater/Big Damn Hero
Hammond-- Too Clever by Half
Gennaro-- Dirty Coward

It may seem unwise to simply shove characters into a certain category, but a character can represent several tropes. For example, the character of Alan Grant may be a Child Hater, but he also comes to be the Big Damn Hero almost every action film demands. I believe the characters in this film are a little more complex than critics give them credit for-- particularly Roger Ebert, who labeled them "half-sketched" and gave the movie three stars out of four. In one of the only discrepancies I've ever had with Ebert's opinion, I believe most of the characters are developed and forge interesting, complex relationships with one another onscreen. This is especially true for Ellie Sattler, who is not only an Action Girl, but an attractive and intelligent woman who is artfully written to be both brave and emotional: a combination most action films ardently avoid. The trope of the cold, tomboyish Action Girl has grown tired from so many years of use. I'm ready for another Ellie Sattler to come onto the scene: a woman who is smart, benevolent, and kick-ass.

Jurassic Park aside, tropes can be used for more than just individual characters. In the grand scheme of fiction, there is a recurring theme of groups. These groups, which can include any number of characters, are especially trope-heavy because of the author's inclination to make each member as different as possible in order to add variety to the story. The most popular include The Five Man Band, Four-Temperament Ensemble, and Power Trio. If you've ever watched Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or Scooby Doo, you're already familiar with these tropes. There's always a leader, a smart one, a chick, a laid-back member, etc., and it's these character foils, however stereotypical, that makes us remember these ensembles and appreciate how so many different characters can work as a team.

It is the way these characters act, however, that differentiates similar tropes across the spectrum. The best example is the enormous contrast between the shows The Simpsons and Family Guy. Both employ the same tropes: Buffoon Dad, Housewife, Trouble-making Brat, Misunderstood Middle Child, and Smart Baby. However, one is exceedingly popular and the other is infamous. Why? Character-development. Homer may be a buffoon who acts on his own interests, but he truly loves his family and wife. Bart and Lisa bicker, but they genuinely care for one another. The exact opposite can be said for Peter Griffin, who acts selfishly and appears to have no regard for the safety or happiness of his family. The family is dysfunctional beyond the point of comedy and relies too much on shock humor to eke nervous laughter out of its viewers. Even though Family Guy has only been television for a little less than half of the time The Simpsons has, the characters still feel as flat and static as they are on paper.

Next week, we'll continue our discussion on characters and start outlining how to write certain characters and where they fit in the grand scheme of your story. In the mean time, browse TV Tropes: you might be surprised by just how much thought goes into classifying these themes and characters. If you're looking for a way to organize a character or develop them further, I highly recommend www.charahub.com, which provides you with a template to design a character and asks you questions about them to get them off the paper and into reality.