by The character is the second important aspect of the novel. Character is a figure in any literary piece of work. Characters can be human or non-human figures, like animals or even inanimate objects. There are several ways of classifying characters into different groups. Forster’s classification is one of the most important among them. EM Foster classified characters into two- Flat and Round characters. EM Foster coined these two terms in his famous book, The Aspects of the Novel, in 1927. The readers and critics can easily distinguish two types of characters. Let us have a look at the flat characters first.
Flat Character
Flat Characters are usually formed out of a single idea or quality. They are not complicated characters. Such characters remain the same throughout the literary works, Therefore, they ate called two-dimensional characters. He is a representative of a community or a group. His deeds, actions, and behavior reflect the community or group to which he belongs. His future actions can be predicted by the readers. Usually, flat characters are minor in terms of their role in a literary work.
Example of a flat character: Gertrude from Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Gertrude is Hamlet’s mother. She marries Claudius, her brother-in-law, after her husband’s death. That leads to the cause of Hamlet’s pain. Gertrude depends on men for affection and status. All her choices or actions are determined by her desire to preserve both. There is no complexity or any changes in her character, she remains in the play with the same motive.
Round Chararcter
Round characters, on the other hand, are a combination of several ideas or qualities. They are complex characters. It is very difficult to study them. They do not derive from any group. He is not a representative of any group. They have a distinct sense of personal identity, behavior, and attitude. and they are themselves responsible for their words, deeds, and attitudes. We cannot predict such characters’ future actions and plans. The round characters are three-dimensional and have the power to surprise the readers through an unexpected act of transformation.
Example of the round character: Gatsby in the novel The Great Gatsby (F. Scott Fitzgerald), is one of the best examples of a round character. He is a complex character with multiple traits and qualities. At the same time, he is a tragic hero. He is a man of great mystery, no one knows his whereabouts, or how he becomes rich. He appears to them as a scared, mysterious, friendly, angry, happy, disappointed, and frustrated man throughout the novel.
