Abstract
This is an outline for the story, "Fifth Business" that gives the introduction, two main body parts, and the conclusion. The paper discusses how the theme of secular and spiritual can be seen in the characters of Dunstan Ramsey, Diana Marfleet, and Mary Dempster representing the spiritual characters and Boy Staunton, Paul Dempster, Liesl, Leola, Reverend Amasa Dempster, Mrs. Ramsay representing the secular characters in "Fifth Business".

From the Paper
"The theme of secular and spiritual can be seen in the characters of Dunstan Ramsey, Diana Marfleet, and Mary Dempster representing the spiritual characters and Boy Staunton, Paul Dempster, Liesl, Leola, Reverend Amasa Dempster, Mrs. Ramsay representing the secular characters in "Fifth Business". In the story, "Fifth Business", by David Robertson, the theme of spiritual and secular, or good vs. evil can be seen throughout the story by representation of the different characters. The beginning of the story is about two boys throwing snowballs, but one of the..."

Tags:secular, spiritual, characters

Abstract
The paper discusses the main characters in Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Scarlet Letter".

From the Paper
"The character of Arthur Dimmesdale, the adulteress minister in Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Scarlet Letter" is one whose public personae and private life are contradictory. Although he is the father of Hester Prynne's illegitimate child, he never acknowledges this in public. Indeed, when the governor is determined to declare Hester unfit and remove her daughter Pearl from her care, it is Pearl's father who successfully changes the governor's mind. He does not acknowledge his own adultery and allows Hester to suffer..."

Tags:Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter, characters

Abstract
This paper presents an analysis of ways that minor characters contribute to the action of two plays by Shakespeare: "Romeo and Juliet" and "Hamlet". It looks at how the supporting players in both dramas drive the action of events.

From the Paper
"The supporting characters in Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet do much to drive the action of the plays. Although the focus of action is chiefly on the behavior and fate of the central characters the minor characters are far more than simply place holders. How they help determine the pattern of events is the subject of this research. In Romeo and Juliet the Nurse and Friar Laurence are of special importance in moving the action along because they extend themselves beyond the call of ordinary duty as servant ..."

Tags:Romeo, and, Juliet, Hamlet, Minor, characters

Abstract
In this article, the writer compares and contrasts W.H. Auden's "The Unknown Citizen," Sophocles' 'Philoctetes', Tsitsi Dangarembga's 'Nervous Conditions', and Mehdi Charef's 'Tea in the Harem', examining the disenfranchisement of the characters and their rites of passage.

From the Paper
"Rites of passage are a recurrent theme in modern literature highlighting difficult transitions in status or thinking that become a turning point in the lives of the characters. Four works that typify the rite of passage are W. H Auden's poem 'The Unknown Citizen' Sophocles' play 'Philoctetes' and the novels 'Nervous Conditions' by Tsitsi Dangarembga and 'Tea in the Harem' by Mehdi Charef. In each of these works the main character undergoes a change and while that change is different in each ..."

Tags:Philoctetes, The Unknown Citizen, Tea in the Harem, Nervous Conditions, rites of passage, alienation, characters, disenfranchisement, poem, novel

Abstract
This paper presents an examination of the three main characters in Moliere's play "Tartuffe", and how they reflect the traits of one another. It also looks at the dramatic technique of foiling.

From the Paper
"Tartuffe works as a complex examination of the hypocritical human condition specifically because of the relationships between the characters in the play. In examining the relationships between these main characters and how these relationships serve the writers greater purpose we can begin to understand the meaning of the play in greater depth. For instance it is apparent that Tartuffe Cleante and Orgon have many similarities between them as characters. At the same time however the differences between them are almost startling ..."

Tags:tartuffe, moliere, cleante orgon, foil character

Abstract
This paper examines how Luigi Pirandello's play, "Six Characters in Search of an Author", is a representation of reality as opposed to the presentation of reality via drama. It looks at how it can also be interpreted as a division of the conscious mind from reality, or what Freud called "doubling", since the characters in the play are separated into actors and the characters they are to play. In particular, it attempts to show how the relationship between the author's characters and the actors who attempt to play the characters can be understood in terms of Freud's theory of the uncanny.

From the Paper
"In the play, six characters appear at a rehearsal and are looking for a way to have their story told. Their goal is to have actors play the parts they represent in the story as yet completed. It is a paradoxical situation in which the actors are imitating the characters as they "perform" the circumstances of their lives. The conflict is made manifest in the discussions between the father and the producer as to what constitutes reality. The actors are "real" because they are living humans. The characters are "fictitious forms" of consciousness. From the perspective of the characters, the actors are comical in their attempts to recreate what the character has created. The actor is both "real" and an imitation while the characters are a representation presented to the world as "real" because of the reality of their stories."

Tags:reality, uncanny, actors

Abstract
This paper explains that, the female characters in two of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Lorenzo Da Ponte's operatic collaborations, "Le Nozze di Figaro" and Cosi Fan Tutte", typify and go beyond the Enlightenment views of women, which did not conform with the usual gender prototypes in opera. Next, the author compares the music and dialogue as they relate to the changes in the characters Fiordiligi and Despina in "Cosi" and in Susanna and the Countess in "Figaro". The paper concludes that, although the two operas have similar characters, similar buffa-style stories written for a similar audience and both premiered in Vienna, "Figaro" has been considerably more successful, which is probably because of its more positive and progressive treatment of its female characters.

Footnotes and examples of the referred libretto are included in the paper.

Table of Contents:
Introduction
Women and the Age of Reason
Characters in Context
Comparisons of Music and Dialogue
Examples

From the Paper
"Despina, the cunning and charming servant to the sisters, is never allowed to be the equal of another character (male or female). In ensemble numbers, she is frequently the comic relief. She dresses up as a doctor and a notary and disguises her voice. Despina pretends to be more than she is in both scenes, and she does an admirable job with the parody. However, I believe this clowning only accentuates her lack of depth as a character because she lacks any emotionally meaningful music in the opera. Even Don Alfonso, the old cynic, has moments of humanity (though he is unchanged by the end of the opera), but Despina is never more than the clever servant."

Tags:prototypes class duet, ensemble numbers, aria

Abstract
In this article, the development of the characters with handicaps in works of fiction is analyzed and attention is paid to how much these particular characters have been influenced by the disabilities that they have. Whether these characters have been affected in a positive or negative way is also a point of consideration. The writer notes that unfortunately, it appears that there has not been that much attention paid to handicapped or disabled characters within the realm of contemporary fiction, but there are more characters with disabilities than is first realized. The writer maintains that the idea that more handicaps and limitations are appearing in fiction today is actually very promising, because it shows that there is more recognition of the fact that these problems do exist within society and they should be recognized and addressed.

From the Paper
"It does not appear that a study on this issue has been performed in the past, which is both good and bad, and is discussed within the confines of the methodology. Here, however, it is important to address the literature that is available and the information that it provides. From Tom Hanks' portrayal of Forrest Gump in the movie of the same name to the wheelchair-bound policeman on Cartoon Network's animated show 'Family Guy,' handicapped people, with both mental and physical impairments, are showing up in various works of fiction. However, it is not just whether they appear that is important, but how they are portrayed and whether they evolve throughout the course of the fiction, or whether they simple remain the same types of background characters that they often are in the beginning."

Tags:disabilities, impairments, physical, mental

Abstract
The writer of this paper delves into both the life and works of author Mary Higgins Clark and centers mainly on the strength of her characters. While the author's characters frequently possess the ability to overcome insurmountable obstacles that happen too often in life, this paper details the events in Clark's personal life that often parallel to her characters. The death of her father completely altered Mary's family life. Mary gained the knowledge of how precious life was at the early age of ten. From her mother's example Mary learned how to be strong, even in the face of tragedy. This paper discusses both the plots and main characters from various novels including: My Pretty One Sleeps," "I'll Be Seeing You," "Where are the Children?" and "A Cry in the Night" which deals with a mother struggling to raise her children alone.

From the Paper
"Mary dips into the deep well of her experiences again with her novel, While My Pretty One Sleeps, as she grew up listening to her mother's stories about the fashion world. Her mother had been a bridal buyer for B. Altman's; and also Mary had written a radio show called "Women Today" where she interviewed designers and fashion editors. This exposure showed her the inside story in the glamor world and also the agony within this industry. From these experiences and her inquisitive imagination, Mary concocted Ethel Lambston, a influential gossip writer who was about to "rock the fashion industry with an expose revealing the secrets of top fashion designers," but is murdered before she can get the story out and she is discovered missing by Neeve Kearney."

Tags:literature, motivation, biography

Abstract
The paper discusses how, in "The Winter's Tale," William Shakespeare presents female characters with both inner and exterior strength. It shows that along with the strength, are the qualities of understanding, forgiveness and patience. It explores the three characters in the play that represent these female characteristics - Hermione, Paulina and Perdita. For all three female characters, they are a part of the action and suffer because of the events in the play. Yet even in suffering they remain gracious and strong and forgiving. The paper discusses how it is these characteristics that make "The Winter's Tale" a play about how strong and solid the female character can be, with the outcome of the play also showing what an impact these qualities can have.

From the Paper
"Hermione is the central female character of the play and also the one who suffers the most. At the same time, she is the character who has the greatest amount of strength. In the play, Hermione is accused of infidelity by her husband, something that must hurt her deeply. And yet even when her husband accuses her, she remains calm. When Leontes first calls Hermione an adulteress she denies it calmly and elegantly saying, "should a villain say so, the most replenished villain in the world, he were as much more villain: you, my Lord, do but mistake" (II,i). For the audience, the calmness that Hermione possesses is emphasized by the contrast with her husband."

Tags:Leontes, base, speech, shepherd