🌟 THE SPOTLIGHT
Small Thingsby Ntikeng Mohlele
( EDITION USED: Mohlele, N. 2013.Small Things. Pietermaritzburg:University of
KwaZulu-Natal Press.)
Characters & Character Development Guide
Introduction
haracters are at the heart ofSmall Things. Throughtheir relationships, choices, memories,
C
conflicts and losses, Ntikeng Mohlele explores important ideas aboutlove, freedom, identity,
apartheid, inequality, creativity, trauma, memory and the search for meaning.
t the centre of the novel is theunnamed narrator.Because the story is told from his point of
A
view, readers experience other characters largely throughhis memories and interpretations.
This is important when studying characterisation: what the narrator says about another person
may tell us something about that character, but it can also reveal something aboutthe narrator
himself.
or example, his descriptions of Desiree change as he grows older and experiences rejection,
F
imprisonment, homelessness, other relationships and loss. We therefore need to consider not
only:
What is this character like?
but also:
hy does the narrator see this character in this particular way at this point in
W
his life?
What Is Characterisation?
Characterisationis the way a writer creates and develops characters.
Mohlele reveals his characters through:
w
● hat theysay
● what theydo
,
● ow they treat other people
h
● their relationships
● their beliefs and values
● their reactions to difficult situations
● the narrator's descriptions of them
● contrasts between different characters
● and the ways characters change over time.
ome characters appear for long periods, while others appear only briefly. However, in a novel
S
calledSmall Things, we should be careful not to assumethat a character is unimportant simply
because their role appearssmall.
short conversation, act of kindness, rejection, piece of advice or memory can influence the
A
narrator for many years.
Character Development
haracter developmentrefers to the way a characterchanges—or sometimes refuses to
C
change—as the story progresses.
The narrator provides the clearest example.
he young man we meet duringLifeis not exactly thesame man we encounter duringNausea
T
orEchoes.
His experiences change the way he understands:
love
freedom
politics
art
other people
himself
and
the meaning of life.
, owever, character development does not always mean that an old part of someone's
H
personality disappears.
The narrator can become less naïve about love while still carrying feelings for Desiree.
He can become disappointed with politics while still caring about justice.
He can suffer enormous losses while still finding beauty in music.
his makes him acomplex and developing characterrather than a character who simply
T
changes from one fixed personality into another.
Characters as Mirrors and Contrasts
ne of the most useful ways to study the characters inSmall Thingsis to examine how they
O
reflect or contrast with one another.
For example:
Desiree and Mercedescan help us examine differentexperiences and understandings of love.
he narrator and Amazuoften approach life differently,particularly when considering emotion,
T
logic and meaning.
he narrator and Comrade Qcan be connected to differentresponses to political freedom,
T
power and material success.
ther characters help us understand particular parts of the narrator's personality, history and
O
development.
Characters therefore should not be studied completely separately.
Theirrelationships and contrastsoften reveal someof the novel's most important ideas.
he Narrator and Subjective
T
Characterisation
Because the novel usesfirst-person narration, we must remember an important distinction:
, he narrator's opinion of a character is not automatically an objective fact
T
about that character.
e see Desiree, Mercedes, Amazu, Gabriel and the other characters mainly through his
W
perspective.
His descriptions may be influenced by:
love
jealousy
anger
admiration
hurt
nostalgia
trauma
regret.
he narrator himself eventually demonstrates some awareness of this problem. When thinking
T
negatively about Desiree, he acknowledges that some of his thoughts do not have a basis in
“lived reality”(Mohlele, 2013: 59).
This makes character analysis particularly interesting.
Sometimes we need to ask two questions:
What does this tell us about the character being described?
and
What does the description tell us about the narrator?
haracters and the Three Sections of the
C
Novel
Character development should also be studied alongside the novel's three major sections:
Small Thingsby Ntikeng Mohlele
( EDITION USED: Mohlele, N. 2013.Small Things. Pietermaritzburg:University of
KwaZulu-Natal Press.)
Characters & Character Development Guide
Introduction
haracters are at the heart ofSmall Things. Throughtheir relationships, choices, memories,
C
conflicts and losses, Ntikeng Mohlele explores important ideas aboutlove, freedom, identity,
apartheid, inequality, creativity, trauma, memory and the search for meaning.
t the centre of the novel is theunnamed narrator.Because the story is told from his point of
A
view, readers experience other characters largely throughhis memories and interpretations.
This is important when studying characterisation: what the narrator says about another person
may tell us something about that character, but it can also reveal something aboutthe narrator
himself.
or example, his descriptions of Desiree change as he grows older and experiences rejection,
F
imprisonment, homelessness, other relationships and loss. We therefore need to consider not
only:
What is this character like?
but also:
hy does the narrator see this character in this particular way at this point in
W
his life?
What Is Characterisation?
Characterisationis the way a writer creates and develops characters.
Mohlele reveals his characters through:
w
● hat theysay
● what theydo
,
● ow they treat other people
h
● their relationships
● their beliefs and values
● their reactions to difficult situations
● the narrator's descriptions of them
● contrasts between different characters
● and the ways characters change over time.
ome characters appear for long periods, while others appear only briefly. However, in a novel
S
calledSmall Things, we should be careful not to assumethat a character is unimportant simply
because their role appearssmall.
short conversation, act of kindness, rejection, piece of advice or memory can influence the
A
narrator for many years.
Character Development
haracter developmentrefers to the way a characterchanges—or sometimes refuses to
C
change—as the story progresses.
The narrator provides the clearest example.
he young man we meet duringLifeis not exactly thesame man we encounter duringNausea
T
orEchoes.
His experiences change the way he understands:
love
freedom
politics
art
other people
himself
and
the meaning of life.
, owever, character development does not always mean that an old part of someone's
H
personality disappears.
The narrator can become less naïve about love while still carrying feelings for Desiree.
He can become disappointed with politics while still caring about justice.
He can suffer enormous losses while still finding beauty in music.
his makes him acomplex and developing characterrather than a character who simply
T
changes from one fixed personality into another.
Characters as Mirrors and Contrasts
ne of the most useful ways to study the characters inSmall Thingsis to examine how they
O
reflect or contrast with one another.
For example:
Desiree and Mercedescan help us examine differentexperiences and understandings of love.
he narrator and Amazuoften approach life differently,particularly when considering emotion,
T
logic and meaning.
he narrator and Comrade Qcan be connected to differentresponses to political freedom,
T
power and material success.
ther characters help us understand particular parts of the narrator's personality, history and
O
development.
Characters therefore should not be studied completely separately.
Theirrelationships and contrastsoften reveal someof the novel's most important ideas.
he Narrator and Subjective
T
Characterisation
Because the novel usesfirst-person narration, we must remember an important distinction:
, he narrator's opinion of a character is not automatically an objective fact
T
about that character.
e see Desiree, Mercedes, Amazu, Gabriel and the other characters mainly through his
W
perspective.
His descriptions may be influenced by:
love
jealousy
anger
admiration
hurt
nostalgia
trauma
regret.
he narrator himself eventually demonstrates some awareness of this problem. When thinking
T
negatively about Desiree, he acknowledges that some of his thoughts do not have a basis in
“lived reality”(Mohlele, 2013: 59).
This makes character analysis particularly interesting.
Sometimes we need to ask two questions:
What does this tell us about the character being described?
and
What does the description tell us about the narrator?
haracters and the Three Sections of the
C
Novel
Character development should also be studied alongside the novel's three major sections:
