Character are the story. It's their perspection from some angle. They tell about the plot and are affected in ways that cause emotion in us, whether pity, anger, love, laughter, etc. The characters are what draw us to the story. Toolan describes a character as mere words written on a page that our imagination gives body and presence. The unique motives and personalities of the characters draw us to read on, to see what the outcome will be.
The reader is like an insider, a co-conspirator with the characters. He sees into the mind of the character. However, the reader partially creates the characters' personality. He draws from his own perception of the text and even what he wants the character to be. Sometimes the character I envision is totally different from the one depicted on the cover or that ends up in the movie. We make our own reality for the "actors." This is representative of the Asian movie we saw in class Thursday. The "relative" reality is determined by each character as well as the reader. We see this by the fact that we, the viewers, are the judge. We decide who to believe.
In McAdams' chapter 5, he quotes Walt Whitman:
Do I contradict myself?
Very well then I contradict myself,
(I am large, I contain multitudes)
McAdams explains that the modern world requires us to be many different people. We are expected to play a different role in different situations. I have a hard time with this. To say we are a mother, daughter, lover, etc. is acceptable, but in some cases, we should not have to stand so far off from our real personality. For example, why does the business world have so many set rules and equations for how we should dress, talk, and think? Companies want a diversified workforce who can be creative and adaptive, yet it forces us to blend in. We wear the same suit, have the same manners, the same office space, the same dictation, the same education (on the same level). How can we be creative and unique when we're shoved into a bottle of "acceptable business protocol?"
Imagoes are all the personalities we take on and are in constant conflict to make the story progress. This story within ourselves is the plot. We are essentially the antagonist and the protagonist. We are the shy and the charmer, the beautiful and the ugly. Our roles are played out by our desires and those things that come up against us everyday. We unthinkingly choose one character to handle each situation. That character determines how the story progresses.
What do you think of Whitman's "multitudes?" Do you contradict yourself?
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