Philology science/2.Methods and control receptions of level
of English proficiency
Master of Arts K. Ilyassova, A. Baydossova
Karaganda state technical
university, Kazakhstan
Positive and Negative Characters in English
Literature.
Success of a piece of writing is
largely determined by the brightness of characters created by the author since
through their action the plot is unraveled and an underlying idea of the work
is realized. In this report, we will focus on positive and negative characters
in English literature. A literary hero is an expresser of a plotline that
reveals the content of the work. That is, there is a certain conception of an
author: the main plan, a certain way of perception of a phenomenon, process or
object, and the author wants to convey his or her perception to a reader
through the lead character. In fact, the lead character is the embodiment of
moral values of the author; this is who wins author's sympathy and must with
those of reader's.
A clear separation of positive and
negative characters dominated in the literature of classicism. As a matter of interest, an image of
positive character varied with the change in attitudes of society. The main features
of a folk mythological hero were force, valor, and courage (Prometheus,
Hercules, Ilya Muromets, Siegfried, etc.). In the ancient literature, positive
character boasted courage in confronting the fate and ability to be reconciled
to his lot and perform what he must do (for example, Antigone). In the Middle
Ages, positive hero was associated primarily with knightly valor and loyalty
("Song of Roland"). In the Renaissance, positive hero was a humanist
hero embodying a high idea of a human vocation, a kind of universal good hero
(Don Quixote). Positive hero of the Enlightenment is a rational and reasonable
person (Robinson Crusoe). However, villains do not change over time. Villain is
mercilessly bitter person engaged in
evil-doing or a character in a game, novel, etc., which is an important
mediator of evil in the story [1].
We give a few examples how authors
show particular features of positive and negative characters.
1)
William Shakespeare's "Hamlet" (1602) shows then-new type of hero - a
humanist hero. As the tragedy progresses, Hamlet tries to solve difficult
ethical problems and find the truth. He performs his actions following his
philosophical reflection. One of the main moral and philosophical issues
concerning Hamlet is revenge. He has two options; the first is to avenge his
father's killer, punish evil and thereby extend the chain of atrocities. The
second one is to accept, endure and forgive. "To be, or not to be?",
he asks himself this famous question in
a monologue [2]. Hamlet is thinking about his devotion to his father; he is
deeply affected by the forthcoming marriage of his mother with a brother of her
late husband. Hamlet ponders how the people in the society are "flat and
dull" in their pursuit of coarse interest. The tragedy "Hamlet"
was written by Shakespeare in the Renaissance. The basic idea of that period
was the idea of revival of humanism and humanity, that is, the value of every
human being and every human life itself. Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, in the
Renaissance became a literary hero of a new generation. Through Hamlet, Shakespeare affirms Renaissance ideal of a man of
mighty mind and strong will. Hamlet is able to fight evil by his own.
Renaissance hero seeks to change and influence the world, and feels the
strength to do it. It there had not been such large-scale characters in the
literature before Shakespeare. Therefore, the story of Hamlet had become a
"breakthrough" in the ideological content of European literature.
The image of Claudius in Shakespeare's play is negative. The conflict
between the humanist Hamlet and tyrant Claudius is a conflict of the old and
new time. Claudius is a central character of the tragedy embodying the type of
bloody monarch who seized power by force in violation of the law, so hated by
humanists. With a mask of a respectable person, caring rule, and gentle
husband, Claudius is not committed to any moral norms: he violates the oath,
kills his brother, and acts deceitfully against the legitimate heir. At court he
revives old feudal customs, and condones spying and denunciations. Endowed with
witchcraft of mind and calidity,
Claudius is sharp-eyed and
cautious: he cleverly prevents Fortinbras from the Denmark campaign, quickly
dampens the anger of Laertes, turning it into an instrument of savage reprisal
against Hamlet, and maintains a semblance
of collegiality in government. Fearing that people would stand up for
the prince, he intrigues against his very cautiously: he does not believe the
rumor about the madness of Hamlet [2].
2)
Peter Pan is a hero of the novel by James Barry "The Adventures of Peter
Pan." That never-aging boy has become one of the most popular book heroes
of the 20th century; featured in 2 films, a Disney cartoon as well as numerous
performances and shows. In Kensington Gardens, where according to the story
Peter lived after he got lost, is located his monument featuring a boy with a
pipe on the shores of Serpentine Lake
draws a lot of parents with children. Being ever-young, Peter Pan is courageous
to recklessness. Desperate boy is not afraid of anyone and always ready to
stand up for others. On the magical island Neverland he gathers the company of
children who lost their parents and becomes their leader, bright and
charismatic. He comes up with all sorts of entertainment for the children from
butterfly hunting to the war with the Indians and pirates, while showing
responsibility for the younger. One of the main merits of Peter is undoubtedly
the fact that he did not exchange his childhood for the possibility of growing
up - in fact, all the kids want to grow up quickly, and the lost boys from the
Neverland Island are no exception. However, Peter Pan was the only who decided
to remain a child forever. Peter has a heightened child-like sense of fairness,
and because of this quality Captain Hook became his bitter enemy. Even so, he treats enmity fancily, harassing
Hook with spiteful jokes and all sorts of tricks.
James Hook, better known as Captain Hook, is
the lead villain of the book of James Barrie "Peter Pan," a captain
of the pirates from the island of Neverland and the sworn enemy of Peter Pan.
Captain Hook is described in the book as follows: "Instead of the right
hand, he had the iron hook, with which at the moment he chases his gang. He
treats his people cruelly and inhumanely. And they are afraid of him and obey.
Captain's skin is deathly pale, he has blue eyes and long dark curls which look
like "black candles" at a distance. All this together makes a
horrifying impression. We must also add that he is always amazingly polite,
even to his victim he would kill in an instant". A historic duel of Peter
Pan after which a crocodile started the
hunt for Hook occurred as a game of chess on the sea shore, with Hook trying to
cheat by hiding a chess piece in the water, for which he paid with his hand
which the crocodile bit off. His motif is desire to be the most famous and
frightening. He hates boys and Peter Pan mainly because they are not afraid of
him, and reckons even if this hatred is a manifestation of mental illness, he
should not treat it [3].
3) “The Snow Queen”, Hans
Christian Andersen’s fairy tale consists of 7 chapters. This is one of the
longest and most popular Andersen’s fairy tales devoted to the well-known in
the XIX century opera actress Yennie Lind. Andersen was conquered to the bottom
of his heart by her beautiful voice. Their acquaintance happened in Copenhagen.
Andersen could not speak gallantly of his love, therefore he decided to write
about it and to confess in his feelings.
Having sent a letter with his confession to Lind, he didn’t receive any
answer. So there appeared the fairy tale telling of the pathetic love between
Gerda and Kai. The actress offered Andersen to become her brother and he
agreed. The image of Gerda and Kai invented by Andersen and personifying him
and Lind, was identically clean. The fairy tale by Andersen describes a kind,
attentive and sympathetic Kai who later on turns out a coarse and brutal boy
able to offend anybody. One of Kai’s deeds ended with his turning out in the
Snow Queen’s captivity where he became a boy with an icy heart. Kai was
constantly trying to make the word “eternity” of ice pieces but he couldn’t
manage. Kai’s aspiration to understand the eternity point out to his
misunderstanding of the fact that it is impossible to do without real feelings,
without love, having only a cold mind and an icy heart. Gerda’s image is a
contrast to the Snow Queen’s character. The girl undertakes a long and
difficult way for her love. She remained kind and honey within the entire fairy
tale. Her bravery, persistence and patience help her not to despond, and her
humility overcomes all failures. Owing to such a character she managed to find
Kai. And her love to him could melt his icy heart and to overcome the Snow
Queen’s invocations.
The image of the Snow Queen in the fairy tale
was not taken for no special reason. Before his death Andersen's father told
that the Ice Maiden came to take him. In the fairy tale the writer personified
the Snow Queen with the Ice Maiden who carried away his dying father with
herself. The snow Queen, Witch-Snowstorm, the Ice Maiden is a classical
character of Scandinavian folklore. The lifeless and cold space, snow and
eternal ices – this is the Kingdom of the Snow Queen. A tall, beautiful ruler
on the throne that is on the lake which is called "The reason
mirror", she is an embodiment of a cold reason and beauty, is deprived of
manifestation of any feelings. In the fairy tale prologue Andersen starts
writing that to some people there get splinters of ice heart which becomes frozen,
cold and insensible. And at the end of the fairy tale he describes how Gerda’s
hot tears fall on Kai’s breast and the ice splinter in his heart thaws. The
cold in the fairy tale is an embodiment of the evil, of everything bad on the
earth, and the warm is love. Therefore in the eyes of the Snow Queen Andersen
sees the absence of warm, the existence of cold and insensibility [4].
4) Harry James Potter is the main goodie in a
series of novels by J.K. Rowling. At the beginning of the story, Harry is a
lonely teenager who is constantly exposed to humiliation in the family and at
school. In the first year of study at Hogwarts, where Harry finally feels like
a complete human being, his basic character traits, both positive and negative,
were formed. Harry is good, serious about any human relationship, never betrays
his friends, and treats adults with respect who, of course, deserved the
respect. He will never attack first, and on the contrary he often has to fend
off attacks himself. Harry is a leader by nature and if he has anything to
lead, he does pretty well. He is no so sociable and quite secretive, but is
capable of deep love and anticipation of what cannot be expressed in words.
According to Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter is a man completely devoid of
selfishness.
Tom Marvolo
Riddle is the main villain in the series of novels about Harry Potter. He is better known as Lord Voldemort in a
magical world. Everyone is afraid of him to such an extent that even his name,
as a rule, is not pronounced. The author of books about Harry Potter, J.K.
Rowling, suggested that the main fear of Voldemort is "a humiliating
death," and his lifeless body would be his Boggart. As regards personal
qualities, Voldemort can be called cautious, clever and calm strategist. In the
fourth and fifth year of Harry Potter's study at Hogwarts, Voldemort planned
year-long operations: the first was associated with his return to the body, the
second one with the invasion to the Department of Mysteries of the Ministry of
Magic. So afraid of his own death, Voldemort is absolutely indifferent to
someone else's one. He kills with astonishing ease, especially if a person is
no longer useful. This lack of basic empathy for anyone else shocks even his
followers [5].
To conclude, we can say that a character "is an image of a human or
a humanized creature, portrait is an image of his external outlook."
Portrait of a character, as one of the parameters of the analysis of a literary
character, is a description of physical characteristics of the character, that
is, his or her appearance and manner of dress, and a psychological component of
individual parts of appearance - facial features, facial expressions, figure,
poses, gestures, movements, and clothes. Analysis of the behavior of a
character which are disclosed in the composition and plot, contribute to
building a more complete picture of a given character.
Literature:
1. Adonyeva
S.B. Fairy text and traditional culture. SPB.: Publishing of Saint Petersburg
University, 2000. 181 p.
3. Barry
J.M. Peter Pan in Kensigton Gardens. Oxford University press, 2000. - 240
p.
5. Rowling
J.K. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. London: Blumsbury, 1997. - 223
p.