Examples of how you can analyze the action of a character.

1.  Edgar Allan Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado."

Fortunato
  • "He laughed and threw the bottle upwards with a gesticulation I did not understand" (9).
    • We learn later that the gesture is a sign of the secret society The Freemasons.
    • What kind of person does this? 
  • "The earliest indication I had of this was a low moaning cry from the depth of the recess" (11). 
  • He goes down to the catacombs to taste the wine despite that he was enjoying himself during carnival.
  • He drinks while in the catacombs.
    • There is more actions for Fortunato.  Now, what can we assume about his character based on these actions?
Montresor
  • "The noise lasted for several minutes, during which, that I might hearken to it with the more satisfaction, I ceased my labors and sat down upon the bones" (11).
  • He kills Fortunato by burying him alive.
  • He tells his servants to be at home, knowing that they will leave.
  • He plans the revenge on a Carnival night.
  • He already had the stone and mortar for walling Fortunato in.
 

 

 

After you list the actions of the character, you want to really think about what these actions say about who the characters are. 

We might assume that if a character never speaks to people in public that she is an antisocial person. 

In a character analysis paper, if you were going to argue that Montresor is manipulative in one paragraph, you might use the example of him telling his servants to stay at home.  You then would go on to explain how the example supports your argument.  You might say that a man who uses reverse psychology is manipulative.

You might analyze that a man who plans a murder during carnival at night is a smart man, not an insane man. 

 

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