Both the terms, static characters and dynamic characters are used to classify the people who make up your articles.
These categories are adapted to character development, if by the end of the story they are a changed person, they are a dynamic character whereas a consistent character if they don’t change at all.
Let us discuss the difference between these two terms in detail.
Key Takeaways
- Static characters remain the same throughout a story, while dynamic characters undergo significant changes.
- Static characters serve as a foil to dynamic characters, highlighting the changes that occur in the latter, while dynamic characters drive the plot forward.
- Static characters are commonly found in stories with a strong moral or message, while dynamic characters are more commonly found in character-driven stories.
Static Characters vs Dynamic Characters
The difference between a static character and a dynamic character is that the first remains the same throughout the story without changing from the first to the last, while the second has the experience of creating a lasting impact on their lives that allows them to grow and develop.
A consistent character that is a static character is a character who is not subject to any significant changes in the narrative. The consistent character may be a well-developed character but does not experience a meaningful character arc.
Dynamic characters gain the experience of creating a lasting impact on their lives, which allows them to grow and develop. The dynamic character ends with a worse note, they can be bad, twisted, cruel or reckless.
Comparison Table
| Parameters of Comparison | Static Character | Dynamic Character |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | It remains the same throughout the story | It undergoes number of changes |
| Personality | The personality of the character remains the same throughout the story | There could be a change in personality of the character |
| Role | These are the small characters of the story | A dynamic character plays the main role of the story |
| Other features | They can be protagonist or any other minor character | This character is dramatic and literary |
| Example | Mr. Collins who is a humorous character from the novel Pride and Prejudice | The character of Ebenezer Scrooge displayed in “A Christmas Carol” by Dickens undergoes various personality changes from the beginning till the end |
What is a Static Character ?
A static character is a kind of character that stays the same throughout the story. Their surroundings may change, but they have the same personality and attitude that they did at the beginning of the story.
It is common for small characters to be consistent in stories. These are the opposite of dynamic characters; Although the consistent characters remain the same throughout the story, the dynamic characters undergo significant internal modifications.
If we use the term fixed characters then it is confused with the other term which is “flat character” and when they overlap, they are not identical.
A consistent character is someone who does not make significant changes to the story, but a flat character is a dimensional character who is not layered or deep — instead, the flat character has only one or two features.
Complete personality. Flat letters are almost exclusively fixed letters, but not all fixed letters are flat — most letters are interesting and rounded.
There is no change in these characters throughout the novel and they remain the same from beginning to end. In most stories, these are minor characters.
What is a Dynamic Character ?
A dynamic man or woman is a person who is situation to enormous internal modifications in the course of the tale which could be a prime exchange in persona or perspective of the story.
The improvement of a dynamic person is regularly diffused and unstable and does no longer occur because of changes inside the man or woman’s circumstances. maximum of the principle characters and essential characters within the stories are dynamic.
Dynamic characters are the other static characters; even though the dynamic characters alternate at some stage in the tale, the steady characters remain equal.
The time period “dynamic character” is regularly burdened with “spherical individual” and while they frequently overlap, they may be not equal.
A dynamic character is one that adjustments notably during the tale, even as the spherical character is one this is interesting and layered.
A character rotates without trade in the course of the story, so the characters rotate without transferring. Dynamic characters are the principal characters of the tale and go through exceptional changes at some point in the tale.
Main Difference Between Static Character and Dynamic Character
- A static character does not change throughout the story, but a dynamic character makes a major change in personality or perspective in the story.
- A static character is round or flat, but a dynamic character that they are round / complex
- In the case of static characters they do not change throughout the story, but there are different changes in the dynamic characters.
- A static character is mostly small letters of stories, on the other hand, dynamic characters are the main characters of the story.
- An example of a static character from pride and prejudice Mr. Collins and examples of dynamic characters from the same novel by Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy.
Reference
- https://link.springer.com/article/10.3758/BF03202447
- https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-58967-1_6
Last Updated : 13 July, 2023
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Emma Smith holds an MA degree in English from Irvine Valley College. She has been a Journalist since 2002, writing articles on the English language, Sports, and Law. Read more about me on her bio page.
Maintaining the contrast of the static and dynamic characters throughout the article is helpful in clarifying the difference between the two, particularly in reference to literary examples. Well done.
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The comparison table effectively illustrates the distinctions between static and dynamic characters. It’s an insightful tool that enhances the understanding of these literary concepts. Great content!
The post provides a comprehensive analysis of the characteristics of static and dynamic characters in literature. A very illuminating read that is both informative and engaging.
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