Please help me out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!?

Question

I have to read two books and compare and contrast the main character from each book. But I need some help. Do I compare and contrast the personalities (character traits) of each character or the environment around them? If it is character traits, then how can I figure out the character traits? If you are reading this, please help me out, please!!!!! I will be very very very very very thankful to you, please help me out!!!!!

The two books I read are AN EYE FOR AN EYE BY PETER AND CONNIE ROOP and FREEDOM BEYOND THE SEA BY WALDTRAUT LEWIN. The characters are SAMANTHA BYRD from AN EYE FOR AN EYE and ESTHER MARCHADI from FREEDOM BEYOND THE SEA. :D

Answer 1

If you just compare the environments and the given simple facts, the person grading you will say you have no insight. By simple facts, I mean:
age,
occupation,
race,
the name of their religion (their actual beliefs, though, could be more interesting)
location,
family situation,
height,
weight,
coloring (eyes and hair).

For character traits, at least mention, preferably with evidence from passages in the books, if these traits are shown or can be inferred... Don't mention traits that are missing unless you think that's also important!
Some traits should be mentioned together when the characters are complex, or the characters have similarities or marked differences.

honesty or dishonesty
deviousness
eloquence
intelligence
cleverness
stupidity
gullibility
purity of motivation
ignorance
anger or aggression
passivity or depression
self-effacement
regretfulness
self-satisfaction
modesty
persuasiveness
industriousness
laziness
nastiness or kindness
detachment from reality
helplessness
conceit
lack of feeling or empathy
general numbness
intensity
narrow focus of thoughts
spirituality
blind obedience
high awareness or mindfulness
poor listening skills
self-absorption, as in liking one's own voice
stubbornness, being closed to new information
rudeness
obsequiousness - being slave-like to others
contrariness - disliking others or others' opinions
helpfulness
uncaring

maybe you can think of a few dozen more.

Answer 2

Look to compare and contrast things such as:
* How they interact with their environment and/or situation(s). For instance, do they meet the problem head on or shy away? For either, how do they act this out - do they seek help from others, take the problem solely on themselves, internalize the problem, etc? You can get a lot of useful material right there.
* How they interact within relationships or with other people. Are they constantly messing up their relationships? If so, the author has probably built in motives or reasons behind this, such as childhood trauma or whatever. Look for the underlying themes that the author uses to develop his/her characters.

Bottom line, you can pick out the main character's traits the same way you do with the people around you. A good author will give you all the details you need to watch the character and better understand his/her motives (character traits) and actions.

Hope that helps some! Good luck to you on your project.

Answer 3

Compare and contrast the character traits ( which really centers around personality ). Once you begin reading, you will "get to know" the characters, thus their traits. It might also help to write down your thoughts as you go along.

Answer 4

If you're supposed to compare and contrast the 'main character', you would compare and contract their personalities (character traits). At the same time, you can encompass how their separate environments affects them as a whole and their character traits individually.

Hope this helps.

Tina

Answer 5

Compare and contrast the characters' personalities and other traits important to their function in the stories. For example, one character may have strikingly attractive physical characteristics and the other may have remarkably unattractive physical characteristics. How do these characteristics affect the other characters in the stories, how do they react to them? Personalities are revealed through the characters' behavior toward others, how they deal with conflicts, how other characters react to them, what they say about them, etc.

Essentially, determining a literary character's traits is done the same way you would determine any person's traits whom you would meet in your daily life.

Answer 6

As you read each book, take down notes about the person.
They said character traits, not their environment.
You could comment on how they react to their surroundings.
Arrange these traits in a column form, then match up the two lists.
Be looking for similarities & differences.
Then start composing sentences to describe these: e.g.
"Jim is a grumpy old fisherman, while Jill is a bubbly young girl.
They are both dealing with a problem in their lives."

Answer 7

Contrast their character traits. Ask yourself "how would x behave in such situation, how about y ?" Just invent your own situation, and see how they compare.

Also, don't use an exclamation point when you are writing for a class.

Answer 8

If you would tell us the characters and the books, I think it would help. But I think you could do both really. You could compare and contrast the ways the characters act, and the way they think. You could also compare/contrast the way their envirnments effect them.

Answer 9

It seems to me that you will do both,personality,and environment around them. When you read the books,you might see exactly what he/she wants you to do.One might be happy and a nice mom,the next depressed and a bad mom? Something like that!