Questions tagged [character-analysis]
Questions relating to the analysis of characters in works of literature: for example, their traits, construction, or other aspects. This tag should be used together with any relevant work, series, or author tags.
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Why does Odysseus decide to leave without Philoktetes?
I am reading James Scully's translation of Philoktetes (also known as Philoctetes), in The Complete Plays of Sophocles, translated by Robert Bagg & James Scully. At one point, after getting ...
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Did P.G. Wodehouse ever parody Rex Stout?
An acquaintance with a silly nickname rings to beg that the narrator take his place at a charity dinner put on by his aunt.
That summary could describe the beginnings of several Bertie Wooster stories ...
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What do the names of Yasha's animals in "The Magician of Lublin" say about him?
In Isaac Bashevis Singer's The Magician of Lublin, our main character Yasha named his horses "Kara" and "Shiva", and refers to them as "Dust" and "Ashes:
He need ...
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How did Henchard change after the auction incident?
In the novel The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy, how was Henchard a changed person after the auction incident?
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"The Rocking Horse Winner" Characterization
I'm trying to analyze the characters Basset, Oscar, Hester, and Paul in D.H. Lawrence's short story "The Rocking Horse Winner", to know which ones are round characters and which ones are ...
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Did Satan feel genuine remorse for his actions and compassion for his subordinates?
Related: Is John Milton's Lucifer a tragic hero?
Towards the end of book 1 (starting around line 600 in my edition), Satan addresses his followers.
Above them all th' Arch-Angel: but his face
...
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What do the names of the Decameron characters signify?
The Wikipedia page for the Decameron claims (without citations) that:
Boccaccio himself notes that the names he gives for these ten characters are in fact pseudonyms chosen as "appropriate to ...
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Do the young women and men of the Decameron represent the Virtues and sections of the soul?
The Wikipedia page on the Decameron claims that:
Many details of the Decameron are infused with a medieval sense of numerological and mystical significance.[9] For example, it is widely believed[by ...
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What is Paul's character based on in "Code Name Verity"?
One of the major supporting characters in Code Name Verity is Paul, leader of the Damask resistance circuit. A superb organizer, he takes pride in how he'd never lost anyone in his circuit (before ...
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Why doesn't Shams give Kimya any closure?
Shams rejects Kimya and she dies. Why doesn't he comfort her, explain why he doesn't want to make love to her, or in some other way acknowledge her love? I expected them to have some kind of heart-to-...
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What exactly drove Humbert’s preference for preteens?
In the first four chapters, our narrator Humbert, after explaining his backstory, relates an experience in which he met, in his youth, a girl he was friends with. He even had a kind of relationship, ...
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What links Lily Briscoe's desire in To The Lighthouse to the desire of the old man in Slave Old Man?
The two books being compared are To The Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf and Slave Old Man (or The Old Slave and the Mastiff) by Patrick Chamoiseau. I have to write a thesis but am having a hard time ...
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What is the significance of Grendel being descended from Cain?
In the tale of Beowulf, the monster Grendel is said to be descended from the biblical character of Cain. This was surprising to me, as I'd thought Beowulf was a pre-Christian story given its setting ...
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Why is Jacques Kohn wearing a "father-murderer" collar?
In the description of Jacques Kohn in the beginning of Isaac Bashevis Singer's "A Friend of Kafka", he's described as wearing this:
Although he still dressed in the style of a dandy, his ...
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Why did Gatsby say "This is a terrible mistake" in "The Great Gatsby"?
In chapter 5 of The Great Gatsby, when Gatsby reunited with Daisy, he (Gatsby) followed Nick into the kitchen:
“Where are you going?” demanded Gatsby in immediate alarm.
“I’ll be back.”
“I’ve got to ...
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