Character Development

 

Hello!

Today's research is based on character development. This can work in either direction- a change for the worst or for the best. A character's initial values are usually evident throughout the beginning of any story or film, and the way they change by the end of it defines the development of their personality and moral values. 

Google defines character development as "how a character has changed throughout the story", and there are apparently 5 types of it: honesty, responsibility, learning, reflection, and experiencing. By this logic, character development is only a shift in personality from "bad" to "good." However, I have my own definition of it. 

I consider character development to be more like timeline throughout a person's life. They have low points and they have high points, but their life overall is a straight line. Regardless, in life a character moves forward despite the challenges ahead of them, and their stories all end regardless of good or bad choices. The way they end their stories is the true judgement of their combined experiences. True character development is the combination of every action despite fluctuations in behavior, and what a character does with the things they learned throughout the timeline of their story. 

That's why I agree with this depiction in particular, specifically how the character is said to have changed "for better or for worse." I like the idea that a character's story arc is not linear, and that there is no way to go throughout your life without making any mistakes.