Short Fiction: Characters & Conflict

By using setting as a backdrop that remains constant throughout the story to maintain focus on character dialogue.

By highlighting the differences between characters' experiences and challenges.

By providing detailed descriptions of time and place that stand alone without influencing the narrative.

By having no significant impact, allowing themes to be inferred solely through plot and character actions.

Reaffirmation of European explorers' accounts as universally accurate.

Unquestioned adoption of Western chronological timelines.

Glorification of empire building as progress without criticism.

Subversion of colonial language to express indigenous perspectives.

It mostly results in characters becoming aggressive and destructive towards their environment and other beings.

It typically ensures that characters remain stable and grounded in their beliefs with little enhancement or evolvement.

It acts as a catalyst for self-reflection and rumination about one's place within the natural world.

It normally motivates actors to disconnect from society, pursuing a solitary lifestyle and avoiding relationships and development.

They slow down the action too much, preventing a deeper exploration of other characters' thoughts.

They offer redundant information that could be more effectively conveyed through dialogue with other characters.

They seem artificial and forced, detracting from an otherwise naturalistic portrayal of Macbeth’s psyche.

They provide insight into his internal conflicts and motivations, deepening his complexity as a tragic hero.

It provides intimate access to a character's thoughts, revealing inner conflicts and motivations.

It limits insight into a character's thoughts, emphasizing external action over internal dialogue.

It creates clear, chronological events that aid in understanding straightforward characterization.

It focuses solely on dialogues between characters to develop interpersonal relationships.

It limits knowledge to only surface-level traits and actions for all characters involved.

It presents direct access only to antagonist’s plans and intentions but not other figures'.

It allows insight into multiple characters' thoughts and motivations simultaneously.

It confines narrative focus strictly to one protagonist throughout the entire text.

It confuses the reader with an unpredictable rhythm, obscuring meaning.

It emphasizes modernity and disconnects the poem from traditional forms.

It creates a rhythmic flow that mirrors natural speech, aiding in understanding.

It simplifies the poem’s structure to focus solely on visual imagery.

The critic might argue that Eve's character is ambiguously portrayed to challenge patriarchal narratives of fallibility.

They could claim that the poem provides a platform for advocacy against traditional women's roles in society.

They could propose that Milton masques his misogyny in the guise of religious allegory in order to undermine female agency.

They might stress that Milton implicitly endorses Eve's assertion of free will despite her actions leading to humanity's downfall.

Third-person omniscient

First-person central

Second-person observer

Third-person limited

Personification

Hyperbole

Simile

Onomatopoeia