PANDA TraP
No, we are not involved in imprisoning a rare animal - PANDA TRaPS is a great mnemonic to help you remember ways to analyse the presentation of a character in fiction. This works well for a shorter extract, but also for an overview of the character across the course of the text.
Physical appearance
Actions
Name analysis
Dialogue
Attitude
Thoughts
Reaction by the character and to the character
a (redundant)
Physical/emotional setting
Examples of PANDA TRaP from our students
Character Trees
A character tree allows you to explore a character using the metaphor of a tree. You can draw it out or simply use it as a thinking tool.
The ground - Environment that this character grew in. This can include social class, gender, era, family, education, wealth. This information often gives us a lot of insight into what drives this character, or what causes them issues.
The leaves - The public face. The leaves represent the person that everyone sees on the surface.
The branches - Key events. The key events often influence the public face e.g. a character who has been unlucky in love before (Benedick, Beatrice) may outwardly show complete disregard for finding a partner.
The trunk - The core personality. We only see the centre of a tree if it is cut down, damaged, blown over, or rots. Therefore the core personality is the bit that we can infer about a character and only truly see when things go wrong for them.
Examples of character trees from our students.
The ground - Environment that this character grew in. This can include social class, gender, era, family, education, wealth. This information often gives us a lot of insight into what drives this character, or what causes them issues.
The leaves - The public face. The leaves represent the person that everyone sees on the surface.
The branches - Key events. The key events often influence the public face e.g. a character who has been unlucky in love before (Benedick, Beatrice) may outwardly show complete disregard for finding a partner.
The trunk - The core personality. We only see the centre of a tree if it is cut down, damaged, blown over, or rots. Therefore the core personality is the bit that we can infer about a character and only truly see when things go wrong for them.
Examples of character trees from our students.
Character Arcs
A character arc helps you to map how a character changes across the course of a text.
On the arc, you can either keep it simple with a clear focus on the beginning, middle, and end of the character's journey. Or you can show more detailed progression with analysis of a number of key events.
Questions to ask yourself when completing a character arc:
Which words best describe this character at the start, middle and end of the text?
Do they undergo a transformation?
Do they remain consistent?
When do they surprise us?
Which words best sum up their overall 'journey' as a character?
Examples of character arcs from our students.
On the arc, you can either keep it simple with a clear focus on the beginning, middle, and end of the character's journey. Or you can show more detailed progression with analysis of a number of key events.
Questions to ask yourself when completing a character arc:
Which words best describe this character at the start, middle and end of the text?
Do they undergo a transformation?
Do they remain consistent?
When do they surprise us?
Which words best sum up their overall 'journey' as a character?
Examples of character arcs from our students.