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Contrast of Characterization
in Novels.
Outline
Thesis statement: The characterization the authors use in these three novels
determines how well the readers will get to know the main characters in terms of emotion.
I. Characterization of Grace
A. What role characterization plays
B. How well the reader gets to know Grace
II. Characterization of Janie
A. Hurston’s development of Janie
B. What the reader learns about Janie
III. Contrast of Janie and Grace
A. What makes the two characters different
B. Contrasting views on love and marriage
IV. Characterization of Fools Crow
A. Transformation made by his character
B. How his character is developed
V. Contrast of Fools Crow and Grace
A. Difference in the two character’s
emotions
B. Reaction (emotionally) to different
situations
Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood is a novel where the main
character Grace is a sort of mystery character. In the end she is at peace,
but there are still many questions about her left unanswered. Because Atwood’s
style of writing is informative, yet unclear at the same time, the audience is left to put
the pieces of the puzzle that is Grace together themselves. This leaves the
reader guessing about her character. Two other works that contrast the
characterization of Grace Atwood uses in Alias Grace are Janie in Their Eyes
Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, and Fools Crow in Fools Crow by
James Welch. The characterization the authors use in these three novels determines
how well the reader will get to know the main characters in terms of emotion.
Characterization is one of the main components of writing a
novel. Most of the time in a novel the attributes of the main character are well
known. By the time you’ve finished the novel, you feel as if you know all that
there is to know about that person. In the case of Alias Grace, Atwood
leaves more to questions about Grace’s character than are answered. It seems as
if the more you learn about her life, the more of a mystery she becomes. It is the
reader’s job to take what is known about Grace and piece her together the best she
can. In a review of the book, David Wiley states, “What unfolds is that no one will
ever know Grace” (Wiley 3). Her personality is never totally revealed, and the
reader is left wondering who she is. One character, Dr. Jordan never finds out
anything new about her personality than any of the other doctors who evaluated her before
did. She told her whole life story, but she wasn’t emotionally involved in it.
In the case of Their Eyes Were Watching God, Hurston
develops a strong main character who named Janie. You learn all there is to know
about Janie through her three marriages. Her take on love and marriage is make very
clear by the end of the book. “She saw a dust-bearing bee sink into the sanctum of a
bloom; the thousand year sister-calyxes arch to meet the love embrace…So this was
marriage!” (Hurston 11). Her thoughts are so detailed and
rich. She is the type of character who is easy to relate to. According to the
Kingwood College Library’s site on Zora Neale Hurston, the whole novel is based
around Janie’s journey in trying to find herself. Her thoughts and
feelings are expressed fully throughout the novel and there are no doubts about the type
of sincere, living woman that she is. It is not difficult to guess how she will
react in different situations.
Janie and Grace are opposites when it comes to emotion and
expression. Atwood made Grace intelligent, but she doesn’t do a lot of
reflecting on love and her life in general. Throughout Their Eyes Were
Watching God Janie spends a lot of her time pondering love and how it fits into her
life. “From the beginning of her story under the pear tree Janie undergoes the
process of self-discovery…” (“Novel Guide” 1). Grace, on
the other hand, doesn’t express or experience love even when she marries Jaime Walsh
at the end of the book. “I have been married to Mr. Walsh for almost a year now, and
although it is not what most girls imagine when young, that is perhaps for the better, as
at least the two of us know what sort of bargain we have got into” (Atwood
453). Atwood made conscience effort to keep Grace’s reflections and
feelings to a minimum while Hurston made the effort to bring to light all of who Janie
was.
Fools Crow is a novel in which a young Native American man
develops before the reader’s eyes. In the beginning, he is not very
confident of himself and his
capabilities, but through his journeys and experiences, he transforms into an honorable
man with many accomplishments. “As for White Man’s Dog he looks forward to many
war honors. He is no longer a boy” (Welch 134). Fools Crow’s father
is noting this difference he sees in his son. According to Lori Burlingame, a writer
for American Indian Quarterly, Fools Crow is brave, he embraces his community,
and he is a role model for his people (3). In this novel just like in Their
Eyes Were Watching God, the main character is very well developed. You know
exactly what he is feeling, and anger and sadness is expressed often throughout the
book. Fools Crow transforms before the reader’s eyes from a misunderstood young
man to a brave warrior. Welch develops Fools Crow’s character through
journeys.
In contrast with Fools Crow, Grace’s character doesn’t
show her sadness. When Fools Crow learned the fate of his people from feather woman,
he wept and mourned. “He sighed deeply, and his heart was heavy in his
chest” (Welch 354). Meanwhile when Grace was recalling the murders of her boss
Mr. Kinnear and his mistress Nancy, she didn’t cry or even mourn for their
deaths. This is also true when her mother dies; she doesn’t even cry. “I
did not cry.... And then all was over, so quickly, and the next day went on as before,
only without my mother” (Atwood 121). There is very little emotion involved in how
she reacted to her mother’s death. Her family was not a huge part of her life,
unlike in Fools Crow where family and friends were everything. Mary Whitney,
Grace’s friend, seemed to be the only person Grace expressed grief for when she died,
but even then, her reaction was not as heartfelt as it could have been.
Atwood used a very different approach when considering the
characterization for Grace in her book. Grace in contrast to Fools Crow and Janie
is a very mysterious character. Throughout the novel she discloses her whole life,
but the reader still gets the feeling that they don’t really know Grace as a
person. In the case of Fools Crow and Janie, the reader knows their emotions and how
they interact with loved ones. In all three of these novels characterization is a
big part of how the reader perceives the main character.
Works Cited
Atwood, Margaret. Alias Grace. New York: DoubleDay, 1996.
Burlingame, Lori. “Empowerment Through ‘Retroactive Prophecy’ in
D’Arcy McNickle’s Runner in the Sun: A Story of Indian Maize,
James Welch’s Fools Crow, and Leslie Marmon Siko’s Ceremony.”
American Indian Quarterly. Winter 2000: 1-18.
Hurston, Zora Neale. Their Eyes Were Watching God.
1937. New York:
Classics, 1998.
“Kingwood College Library.” Zora Neale Hurston. Home Page.
6 Mar. 2001
<http://www.nhmccd.cc.tx.us/contracts/lrc/kc/hurston.html>.
“Novel Guide.” Novel Analysis: There Eyes Were Watching God.
Home page. 6 Mar. 2001. <http://www.novelguide.com/theireyeswerewatchinggod/characterprofiles.html>.
Welch, James. Fools Crow. New York: Penguin Books, 1986.
Wiley, David.“Natural Born Quilter.” A&E. 23 Jan.
1997. Prodigy. 4 Mar. 2001.
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