CHARACTER ANALYSIS PAPER GUIDELINES

The purpose of this assignment is to apply select theories you have learned in this course to fictional characters from a film or television series.

Length of each paper: approximately 5.5—6 pages, double-spaced.

Instructions:

Choose a fictional film or television show.  The show you choose will likely have several characters.  Choose only one character as the focus of your paper.  While the character you choose does not have to be the main character of the film or series, there should be enough information about this character to adequately complete the assignment.  Then, select three theories from below and apply those theories to conduct an analysis of the character.  You must draw on three distinct chapters for this task.

Choose from the following theories for each respective paper:

Paper #1—Freudian (Freud), Object Relations (Klein), Object Relations (Winnicott) Analytical Psychology (Jung), Ego Psychology (Anna Freud), Ego psychology (Erikson), Individual Psychology (Adler), Interpersonal Theory (Sullivan), Attachment Theory (Bowlby), Attachment Theory (Ainsworth)

Paper #2—Existentialism (Laing), Existential Phenomenology (May), Psychoanalytic Social Psychology (Horney), Psychoanalytic Social Psychology (Fromm), Humanistic Self-Actualization theory (Maslow), Humanistic Self-Actualization Theory (Rogers), Personal Construct Theory (Kelly), Traditional/Contemporary Radical Behaviorism, Cognitive Behaviorism/Cognitive Social Learning

STRUCTURE OF THE PAPER:

The paper should be double-spaced, 12-point font, 1 inch margins.

Part 1: Introduction (approximately 1 page)

–Brief summary of the show or film and why you chose it.

–Brief introduction of the central characters in the show or series

–Provide a very clear and concise thesis statement about the three theories you will be utilizing to analyze the character. (This is a very important aspect of this assignment.  This will constitute the longest portion of this section of the paper.  The theories you choose may be quite different and even contradict each other.  With this statement you should be able to note those differences (as well as any similarities) and state how each theory will illuminate the personality of the character you chose.)

Part 2: Description of the character you chose (approximately 1 page)

–Describe the character (background, ethnicity, age, culture, job, interests, family history, context (geographical location of the character), struggles/conflicts of the character

Part 3: Presentation of Theory #1 (approximately one page)

–Describe the broad central tenets of the first theory.  Then, describe the elements of the theory you will utilize to analyze the character. (Do not use quotes.  You should be able to explain central aspects of the theory in your own words.)

–Scene 1: Identify and describe a specific scene where the theory is exemplified.  Support your points with specific aspects of the scene.  Explain why the scene illustrates the theory.

–Scene 2: Identify and describe a second specific scene where the theory is exemplified.  Support your points with specific aspects of the scene—theme of the scene, content of the scene, behavior of the character, behavior of others in response to the character, dialogue, camera angles, editing of the scene.  Explain why the scene illustrates the theory.

Part 4: Presentation of Theory #2 (approximately one page)

–Describe the broad central tenets of the second theory.  Then, describe the elements of the theory you will utilize to analyze the character. (Do not use quotes.  You should be able to explain central aspects of the theory in your own words.)

–Scene 1: Identify and describe a specific scene where the theory is exemplified.  Support your points with specific aspects of the scene.  Explain why the scene illustrates the theory.

–Scene 2: Identify and describe a second specific scene where the theory is exemplified.  Support your points with specific aspects of the scene—theme of the scene, content of the scene, behavior of the character, behavior of others in response to the character, dialogue, camera angles, editing of the scene.  Explain why the scene illustrates the theory.

Part 5: Presentation of Theory #3 (approximately one page)

–Describe the broad central tenets of the third theory.  Then, describe the elements of the theory you will utilize to analyze the character. (Do not use quotes.  You should be able to explain central aspects of the theory in your own words.)

–Scene 1: Identify and describe a specific scene where the theory is exemplified.  Support your points with specific aspects of the scene.  Explain why the scene illustrates the theory.

–Scene 2: Identify and describe a second specific scene where the theory is exemplified.  Support your points with specific aspects of the scene—theme of the scene, content of the scene, behavior of the character, behavior of others in response to the character, dialogue, camera angles, editing of the scene.  Explain why the scene illustrates the theory.

Part 6: Conclusion (Approximately ½ page)

Write a concluding statement about this character’s personality that integrates the findings from the analysis above.