You’ll find that most main characters in literature are dynamic, and this is because dynamic characters engage readers with their complex, multi-faceted journeys.Ī dynamic character doesn’t just experience the world around them-they allow the events of the story to reach them and affect them in new and surprising ways.Ī writer also uses dynamic characters to communicate valuable lessons and themes to the reader.

Whether positive or negative, a dynamic character always undergoes some sort of change. In a tragedy, however, the opposite can be true-for example, an honest man coming into great wealth and allowing it to erode his moral center is a tragic dynamic character. For example, an avaricious man learning the true value of immaterial wealth is a common dynamic character archetype. Often, the change a dynamic character undergoes will be for good-overcoming a fatal flaw and becoming a better person for it.

Dynamic characters are sometimes called “literary” or “dramatic” characters. This transformation can be positive or negative they might overcome certain weaknesses in order to achieve their goals, or they might succumb to those weaknesses which lead to their downfall. A dynamic character is someone who undergoes a great, overarching transformation between the beginning and end of the story.

Static vs flat character