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.
