Difference Between Static Characters and Dynamic Characters

April 2023 · 5 minute read

Both the terms, static characters and dynamic characters are used to classify the people who make up your articles. These categories are adapted to character development, if by the end of the story they are a changed person, they are a dynamic character whereas a consistent character if they don’t change at all. Let us discuss the difference between these two terms in detail.

Static Characters vs Dynamic Characters

The main difference between a static character and a dynamic character is that the first remains the same throughout the story without changing from the first to the last, while the second has the experience of creating a lasting impact on their lives that allows them to grow and develop.

A consistent character that is a static character is a character who is not subject to any significant changes in the narrative. The consistent character may be a well-developed character but does not experience a meaningful character arc.

Dynamic characters gain the experience of creating a lasting impact on their lives, which allows them to grow and develop. The dynamic character ends with a worse note, they can be bad, twisted, cruel or reckless.

Comparison Table Between Static Character and Dynamic Character

Parameters of Comparison  Static Character Dynamic Character 
 Definition It remains the same throughout the story It undergoes number of changes
Personality The personality of the character remains the same throughout the story There could be a change in personality of the character
 RoleThese are the small characters of the story  A dynamic character plays the main role of the story
 Other features They can be protagonist or any other minor character This character is dramatic and literary
 Example Mr. Collins who is a humorous character from the novel Pride and Prejudice The character of Ebenezer Scrooge displayed in “A Christmas Carol” by Dickens undergoes various personality changes from the beginning till the end

What is a Static Character ?

A static character is a kind of character that stays the same throughout the story. Their surroundings may change, but they have the same personality and attitude that they did at the beginning of the story. It is common for small characters to be consistent in stories. These are the opposite of dynamic characters; Although the consistent characters remain the same throughout the story, the dynamic characters undergo significant internal modifications.

If we use the term fixed characters then it is often confused with the other term which is “flat character” and when they overlap, they are not identical. A consistent character is someone who does not make significant changes to the story, but a flat character is a dimensional character who is not layered or deep — instead, the flat character has only one or two features. Complete personality. Flat letters are almost exclusively fixed letters, but not all fixed letters are flat — most letters are interesting and rounded. There is no change in these characters throughout the novel and they remain the same from beginning to end. In most stories, these are minor characters.

What is a Dynamic Character ?

A dynamic man or woman is a person who is situation to enormous internal modifications in the course of the tale which could be a prime exchange in persona or perspective of the story. The improvement of a dynamic person is regularly diffused and unstable and does no longer occur because of changes inside the man or woman’s circumstances. maximum of the principle characters and essential characters within the stories are dynamic.

Dynamic characters are the other static characters; even though the dynamic characters alternate at some stage in the tale, the steady characters remain equal. The time period “dynamic character” is regularly burdened with “spherical individual” and while they frequently overlap, they may be not equal. A dynamic character is one that adjustments notably during the tale, even as the spherical character is one this is interesting and layered. A character rotates without trade in the course of the story, so the characters rotate without transferring. Dynamic characters are usually the principal characters of the tale and go through exceptional changes at some point in the tale.

Main Difference Between Static Character and Dynamic Character

  • A static character does not change throughout the story, but a dynamic character makes a major change in personality or perspective in the story.
  • A static character is round or flat, but a dynamic character that they are often round / complex
  • In the case of static characters they do not change throughout the story, but there are different changes in the dynamic characters.
  • A static character is mostly small letters of stories, on the other hand, dynamic characters are usually the main characters of the story.
  • An example of a static character from pride and prejudice Mr. Collins and examples of dynamic characters from the same novel by Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy.
  • Conclusion

    It is not wrong to say that consistent characters are often influenced by the events of the story. But these events lead to a change of dynamic characters. The difference between the two terms is understandable now, as a static character is mostly small letters of stories, on the other hand, dynamic characters are usually the main characters of the story. Further we can also say that, in the case of static characters they do no change throughout the story, but here are different changes in the dynamic characters.

    Reference

  • https://link.springer.com/article/10.3758/BF03202447
  • https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-58967-1_6
  • ncG1vNJzZmiZo6Cur8XDop2fnaKau6SxjZympmeUnrOnsdGepZydXZeytcPEnqVmq6SWwaqvjJyfmqqRmMGmvtJmmKecXZnGr63Moppmm5iWv6Kv056prGWnnsGpedOamaWdXw%3D%3D