What is understanding characters?

The assertion that the character of a society can be understood through the heroes or role models that that society chooses, is certainly debatable. Some might argue that heroes and role models reflect the highest ideals of a society and hence, they are indeed indicative of the character of that particular society. Others, on the other hand, believe that there are other criteria by which to evaluate a society, in addition to heroes and role models.

In the final analysis, I believe that while the people whom a society value most and cherish as role models or heroes are indeed quite telling of the overall values and expectations of that society as a whole, there are also other factors which can be revealing, perhaps even more so than the role models, as to the character of that society.

But before proceeding with my essay, I would like to provide a brief explanation of my understanding of the expression „character of a society" which is a rather elusive, abstract formulation. By the character of a society, I understand the set of values, norms, beliefs, expectations that the majority of people of that society share and live by. This is the sense in which the word shall be used throughout my essay.

In accordance with this, one might say that a hero or a role model, as an incarnation of a particular ideal, is relevant to the particular values and expectations of an individual or group of individuals which form society.

Indeed, throughout time, societies and civilizations have created poems, ballads and all forms of narratives to illustrate their particular beliefs and ideals. The heroes in these stories have been endowed with personality or physical traits that can be considered indicative of the aspirations and values of the people who created them.

However, society is not an uniform body, but merely an entity composed of various people, with their various mentalities and expectations. So, the degree to which we can speak of the character of a society is rather ambigous. We can take a role model or hero from a certain society and think that they are representative for the ideals and expectations of all people in that society but one has to wonder just how accurate is that?

Since it is impossible for all people in a society to have the same ideals and expectations, the role models and heroes are rather relative measures of the character of that society. They might reflect the ideals of the majority, but what about the minority, the rest of people composing that society?

If, for example, the media in a society values and presents as role models for adolescents people like Justin Bieber or Rihanna in virtue of nothing more than their celebrity status, their ability to make enormous amounts of money very fast and spend them just as easily and recklessly, one has to wonder just how telling these role models are to the character of that society.

Maybe for some adolescents these are indeed the role models and heroes to follow but it might just as well be that for others, these do not constitute role models worth following, nor do they personify their aspirations and ideals in any way.

So, maybe it would be more productive and accurate to consider not just the role models but also the scientific, cultural achievements of a particular society since they constitute a tangible materialization of the aspirations, level of knowledge, innovation and development, both intellectual as well as material, of a society.

All in all, I believe that role models might provide insight into the ideals and values shared by large numbers of people in a society, but at the same time, a far more accurate measurement of the character of that society can be provided by the level of development and progress attained as this constitutes a materialization of the dreams and knowledge of that society.

Some readers say one of the things they love most about books is having the opportunity to become someone else for the duration of the novel or to understand how others think. In order to create characters convincing enough to offer your readers this experience, you need to fully understand the characters’ motivations.

Convincing character motivation is key for other reasons as well. Understanding the motivations of your characters will ensure that the actions that they take make sense. Books with poorly developed character motivation may feel contrived; the characters seem to exist only to serve the plot or act in ways that are not consistent with what the reader understands about them.

If your characters are well-developed with clear motivation, you can also get away with characters that are more flawed or less likeable. Your readers may not want to be best friends with the character, but they may be engaged by her once they understand why she behaves the way she does.

There are several things you need to understand about your characters in order to provide them with convincing motivation.