The Thing about Characters ~ Part 1

The Thing about Characters ~ Part 1

Written by Janelle Spiers

Characters are possibly the trickiest, but most interesting piece of any literature, movie, or play and they happen to be my personal favorite.  This is the beginning of a six part series about Characters, their must-have's, their don't-do's, and all the gritty details in between. And so without further ado, I give you The Thing about Characters.

What's In A Name?

"What's in a name?" Said Shakespeare in his famous tragedy, Romeo and Juliet.  'Tis a good question, one that we will explore in this musing about characterization.  Names are an important detail that every writer/parent should be fully cognizant of when naming anybody. 

Read this sample from Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott.

"Christmas won't be Christmas without any presents," grumbled Jo, lying on the rug.  

"It's so dreadful to be poor!" sighed Meg, looking down at her old dress.  

"I don't think it's fair for some girls to have plenty of pretty things, and other girls nothing at all," added little Amy, with an injured sniff.  

"We've got father and mother and each other," said Beth contentedly, from her corner.  

The four young faces on which the firelight shone brightened at the cheerful words, but darkened again as Jo said sadly,— "We haven't got father, and shall not have him for a long time."
 

Now, dear reader, please read that same selection again with different names substituted for their original ones.

"Christmas won't be Christmas without any presents," grumbled Josephine, lying on the rug.  

"It's so dreadful to be poor!" sighed Margaret, looking down at her old dress. 

 "I don't think it's fair for some girls to have plenty of pretty things, and other girls nothing at all," added little Amelia, with an injured sniff.  

"We've got father and mother and each other," said Elizabeth contentedly, from her corner.  

The four young faces on which the firelight shone brightened at the cheerful words, but darkened again as Josephine said sadly,— "We haven't got father, and shall not have him for a long time."
 

Can you see how different they sound now?  Each of these girls has a bigger, longer name that changes her to sound more grown-up and sophisticated. If you've read the book, or know the story, you would know that all except Amelia are the true birth-names of each girl.  Now, read this one more time and see how names really do change a character...

"Christmas won't be Christmas without any presents," grumbled Joe, lying on the rug.  

"It's so dreadful to be poor!" sighed Madeline, looking down at her old dress.  

"I don't think it's fair for some girls to have plenty of pretty things, and other girls nothing at all," added little Amy, with an injured sniff.  

"We've got father and mother and each other," said Betsy contentedly, from her corner.  

The four young faces on which the firelight shone brightened at the cheerful words, but darkened again as Joe said sadly,— "We haven't got father, and shall not have him for a long time."

What's different here?  Well, Jo's name didn't change, but the spelling did.  It looks like a boy's name, and since it never says she's a girl, for all we know it's a little boy lying on the rug. How about Meg?  She's changed to Madeline, a french name, and when she's looking at her clothing, we can almost imagine her as the fashionista-wannabe of the family. I didn't change Amy's name, because it's already short and little, just as how she is described; it fits well.  And Beth's name is changed to Betsy, which alter's her character, too.  Beth sounds sweet and calm, whereas Betsy has a little bit more fire and warmth.

So, to re-ask Shakespeare's question, "What is in a name?"  How does a name change the person/character? Well, that happens a couple different ways.  One, how about the meaning of the name?  If Emily means victorious, then maybe her character should be brave and bold, or maybe she needs to learn to become determined and strong.  Either way, her name can affect the outcome of her personality, even if your audience never knows why you chose the it.  An author should be purposeful in the naming of any character.  From the barmaid in the tavern to the pompous king, their names should fit with the genre, the personality, and the plot of the story.

The second way a name can change is the sound/shape of the name.  If you have a harsh, cruel taskmaster who enjoys beating his slaves into submission, you should look for something with a lot of blunt sounds, like r, k, or t.  Kearn is a great bad-guy name, thanks to Mr. Wayne Thomas Batson, because it is sharp and must be pronounced with great enunciation. What about shape?  I like this one; you can be super creative.  Look at the name Jane Eyre. For anyone who doesn't know the story, Jane is a gentle, quiet, but very straight character when it comes to moral and ethical reasoning.  The tall, upright letters, mixed with some round, curved letters play into her personality, but also the length.  She is often referred to as small, and her unique last name plays into her "unearthly" description.

The last thing I'd like to mention is stereotyping names.  Anne is a name commonly associated with red hair, Henry is often the name of an English boy, and something outrageous like Sedgwick or Humperdinck is used for annoying royalty.  For whatever reason, names are often categorized by personality or appearance.  A word of caution when using stereotype names; you should either have a very good reason for using the name, such as it fits with a family name or fits the character, or you should avoid the name altogether, or even change the stereotype.  Use Anne for a blonde, prissy, cowardly little girl, instead of a spunky, redhead.

And there you have it; a chapter about names.  I started with these because you have to name a character first before all other things. :)

Comment below if you have anything to ask or to say.