Page 67 - ABCTE Study Guide_Neat

name
puts his daughter
insecure; values
Miller poor, a peasant in danger to make
status over family
himself look better
values money over unsympathetic,
King Wealthy
love cruel

There’s no denying that Rumpelstiltskin is a dark character and out for no good, but it’s interesting to note
that although he’s the only character we view as evil, he is also the only character who demonstrates
compassion. Aside from the queen’s desire to protect her child, every action of the rest of the characters
in the story is negative. Every character lies or values money over life and love but Rumpelstiltskin. His
motives, though perhaps evil, are honest. Though at first glance the story seems straightforward, the
author’s use of characterization provides us with a fairly complex story that leaves us with a central
question: who is this “manikin” exactly, and what does he represent?

If we examine the motivations of the characters, we see that greed, status, and personal gain top the list.
Rumpelstiltskin plays on these desires. He is small, not quite human, a character who lurks in the
shadows and dances in the outermost regions of the woods. We might view him as the devil or a demon,
or perhaps the dark part of every human nature. In this sense, “Rumpelstiltskin” can be interpreted as a
cautionary tale that warns us of the hazards inspired by greed and boasting.
Every action of every character in a story moves the plot forward. It is through characters that the drama
of a story is revealed. What a character does, thinks, and says determines the outcome of a story, and,
just as often, setting determines his or her behavior.

Where and When?

Setting is the time and place the action of a story unfolds. Authors use specific details to create an
environment that provides us with information about characters, plot, and thematic meaning. Setting might
include details about the weather, time of day, location, landscape, era—even the particulars of a given
room (chipped paint, peeling wallpaper, an unmade bed) paint a portrait that allows us to visualize the
world our characters inhabit.

Who’s Telling the Story?

Point of view refers to the narrator of the story. Writers use point of view as a device to achieve a certain
tone or style or to relate a desired perspective of a story. The most common points of view are first
person, third-person limited, and third-person omniscient.

• First person: Narrator is a character in the story and is personally affected by plot and
setting. Character would often use pronouns such as I or we.
• Third-person limited: Narrator tells the story and knows everything about the
protagonist or main character. Essentially we view the story through the eyes of one
character.
• Third-person omniscient: Narrator knows what all characters, protagonists, and
antagonists think, feel, and do.

Let’s take a look at how some of these elements combine in Mark Twain’s The Prince and the Pauper.

Notice how Twain uses setting to underscore the disparity between the boys and shape our expectations
of events to come. With the details in this opening chapter we not only have a clear image of the time and
place (London in the sixteenth century) but also of the circumstances surrounding the boy (Edward Tudor,
long-awaited son of Henry VIII—and the reason he had so many wives). Twain’s use of a third-person