Throughout the novel, Ponyboy struggles with class division, violence, innocence, and familial love. Darry repeatedly accuses Ponyboy of lacking common sense, but Ponyboy is a reliable and observant narrator. Because his parents have died in a car accident, Ponyboy lives with his brothers Darry and Sodapop. Ponyboy’s literary interests and academic accomplishments set him apart from the rest of his gang. Ponyboy Curtis - The novel’s fourteen-year-old narrator and protagonist, and the youngest of the greasers. (Kane's wife is the one who changes, dramatically, profoundly, but I won't spoil it for you.)Īs for The Outsiders, here's the list of characters from Sparknotes(the underlining is mine): These characters all interact with leading characters, serving to characterize them, or they provide background or move the plot forward but otherwise we know little about them. Just their appearance tells us their function, and they all stay within their narrowly defined role.

The better we know someone the more emotionally invested we become.įlat characters in High Noon would be the 'mamacita' who crosses herself as the gang rides past, the station master/telegraph operator, the saloon keeper, the preacher, the old drunkard, the hotel clerk, the judge. So change isn't the determining issue it's the level of character knowledge imparted to the reader that tweaks our emotions.

But he doesn't budge, and that's what makes him fascinating. He's a rock that the entire town beats against, even his new bride and his former lover. Marshall Will Kane in High Noon doesn't change. Lennie doesn't change either, other than getting killed, but he creates havoc. She doesn't change, other than getting killed, but she causes a storm of activity.

'Flat characters are people that barely change and are very uninteresting.'Ĭharacters who don't change can be extremely interesting, for instance Curley's wife, in Of Mice and Men. Also, they can undergo change that can occasionally be quite surprising to the audience.' Ben wrote: 'Round and flat characters are present throughout this story.Round characters in a story are people that change throughout the text to adapt to certain situations.

Round/flat character