January 26, 2004
on character
character is defined by situation and reaction only.
to say "i am depressed' means very little. there is no context, no proof, no understanding, no trust. this is the difference between showing and telling that is commonly taught in writing classes.
to show is to explain, to place in context, to prove.
all you know of me is what you witness. the situations and my reactions to them are what define me in your mind. and the situations i place myself into and how i react is how i am defined as a person.
this holds true for both fictional and nonfictional personages.
it is the only way we can have any real understanding of another person. action and reaction.
Posted by tripp at January 26, 2004 02:30 PMComments
Communications 101 - we will believe body language over verbal communication always.
Posted by: kellee at January 26, 2004 08:42 PM
Sometimes a person's actions may or may not define who they are. For example, if a man is faithful to his wife, yet he comes home late from work and repeats this over and over again, she may assume he is cheating on her. The only way to rectify this (in a perfect world) would be to talk about it. If he is truthful, then he will be forgiven. This is the way I think on things.
The same goes for our interactions here. Though we may not know who anyone really is, we assume things about them because of our little interaction with one another. These assumptions may be good or they may be detrimental to our overall comraderie. I am not a saint by any means, but I believe in giving everyone the benefit of the doubt until they prove themselves to me either in the good way or the bad...only then can we proceed...
Posted by: Samuel McMullen at January 30, 2004 04:31 AM
