Flat vs. Round
Showing vs. Telling
Ashley Granados & Emily Titus
Flat
Flat characters are more of a type than an individual
They stay the same throughout the story and do not behave as a
normal human being would (growing and developing)
Most of the time, background characters are the flat characters
of a story
Also called 2D characters
Example
In The Piano Lesson, Maretha is a flat character. She is not
affected by her family's history and does not change with any of
the events that occur.
Round
Round characters behave more like human beings
They are capable of inconsistencies
They grow/change as time goes by
Usually, the main characters of a story are round characters
because the author wants the reader to focus on plot and tone
Example
In Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, Pip goes from being
a naïve child to a strong, mature man. He faces experiences that
help him to see the world differently, so he changes.
Some characters can go from being flat characters to round
characters.
In Othello, Emilia is a simple and silent type of character, but
when she realizes that her husband is a villain, she changes into
a courageous and insightful person.
Showing
-Presenting the characters' words and actions without
commentary; their feelings are shown without commentary.
Example:
"I had a test today. I think I failed it. and I think that maybe
now they won't use me...I told him I saw an inkblot. He said yes
and made me feel good. I thot that was all but when I got up to
go he stopped me. He said now sit down Charlie we are not thru
yet."
-Daniel Keyes, "Flowers for Algernon"
Telling
-The author describes and comments on, characters' motives
and values and often also passes judgement on characters and
events, as a means of shaping the audience's response.
Example:
"If in some smothering dreams you too could pace
Behind the wagon that we flung him in,
And watch the white eyes writhing in his face,
His hanging face, like a devil's sick of sin;
If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood
Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs,
Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud
Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,
My friend, you would not tell with such high zest
To children ardent for some desperate glory,
The old Lie; Dulce et Decorum est
Pro patria mori."
Example