Character
Middle School
Definition
A person, animal, or being who takes part in the events of a story. Main characters drive the plot, while minor characters support it, and well-developed characters change over the course of a story. Readers understand characters through their words, actions, and thoughts.
Worked examples
In *Charlotte's Web*, Wilbur is a main character whose fear of death drives the plot, while Templeton the rat is a minor character who helps but doesn't change.
Main characters like Wilbur drive the story forward; minor characters like Templeton support the action.
Scout in *To Kill a Mockingbird* begins naive about prejudice but grows to understand injustice through what she witnesses and hears from Atticus.
We understand Scout through her thoughts, actions, and words as she changes over the story.
Common mistakes
- calling the author the 'character' when discussing who is speaking → the narrator or a specific character is speaking, not the author The author creates characters; characters exist inside the story world, while the author exists outside it.
- assuming every character who appears is a main character → only characters who drive the plot and change are main characters A character mentioned once or who doesn't affect the plot is minor, even if memorable.
- saying a character is 'good' or 'bad' without evidence from the text → cite the character's specific words, actions, or thoughts to support your claim Character analysis requires textual evidence, not just opinion.
Where you'll use it next
You'll analyze character development and motivation in every story you read, compare character types across texts, and create your own complex characters in narrative writing throughout middle and high school English.
See also
Reviewed by Pat Cheng, M.Ed. — StudyPug Curriculum Lead · Last updated June 6, 2026