Static and Dynamic Characters

Static and Dynamic Characters

Static Characters • A static character is one who remains basically unchanged throughout a work • Much like static on a T.V. set will stay the same

Dynamic Characters • A dynamic character undergoes a permanent change during a story • Much like dynamite will cause something to change by explosion

The Peanut Butter SandwichBy: Shel Silverstein • I'll sing you a story of silly young kingWho played with the world at the end of a string.But he only loved one single thing --And that was just a peanut-butter sandwich.

His subjects all were silly foolsFor he had passed a royal ruleThat all that they could learn in schoolWas how to make a peanut-butter sandwich.

His scepter wand his royal gowns,His regal throne and golden crownsWere brown and sticky from the moundsAnd drippings from each peanut-butter sandwich.

He would not eat his sovereign steak,He scorned his soup and kingly cake,And told his courtly cook to bakeAn extra-sticky peanut-butter sandwich.

And then one day he took a biteAnd started chewing with delight,But found his mouth was stuck quite tightFrom that last bite of peanut-butter sandwich.

His brother pulled, his sister pried,The wizard pushed, his mother cried,"My boy's committed suicideFrom eating his last peanut-butter sandwich!"

The dentist came, and the royal doc.The royal plumber banged and knocked,But still those jaws stayed tightly locked.Oh darn that sticky peanut-butter sandwich!

The carpenter, he tried with pliers,The telephone man tried with wires,The firemen, they tried with fire,But couldn't melt that peanut-butter sandwich.

With ropes and pulleys, drills and coil,With steam and lubricating oil --For twenty years of tears and toil --They fought that awful peanut-butter sandwich.

Then all his royal subjects came.They hooked his jaws with grapplin' chainsAnd pulled both ways with might and mainAgainst that stubborn peanut-butter sandwich.

Each man and woman, girl and boyPut down their ploughs and pots and toysAnd pulled until kerack! Oh, joy --They broke right through that peanut-butter sandwich.

A puff of dust, a screech, a squeak --The kin's jaw opened with a creak.And then in voice so faint and weak --The first words that they heard him speakWere, "How about a peanut-butter sandwich?"

Static or Dynamic? • Fill out your graphic organizer with the correct information • Then state whether the character of the king is static or dynamic

Answer: Static • The king goes through the horrible ordeal of having his mouth stuck together by a peanut butter sandwich for TWENTY years. • However, as soon as he gets unstuck….he wants another peanut butter sandwich showing he did not undergo a major change.

Garbage By Shel Silverstein • Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout Would not take the garbage out! She'd scour the pots and scrape the pans, Candy the yams and spice the hams, And though her daddy would scream and shout,

And so it piled up to the ceilings: Coffee grounds, potato peelings, Brown bananas, rotten peas, Chunks of sour cottage cheese. It filled the can, it covered the floor, It cracked the window and blocked the door

With bacon rinds and chicken bones, Drippy ends of ice cream cones, Prune pits, peach pits, orange peel, Gloppy glumps of cold oatmeal, Pizza crusts and withered greens, Soggy beans and tangerines, Crusts of black burned buttered toast, Gristly bits of beefy roasts. . .

She simply would not take the garbage out. The garbage rolled on down the hall, It raised the roof, it broke the wall. . . Greasy napkins, cookie crumbs, Globs of gooey bubble gum, Cellophane from green baloney, Rubbery blubbery macaroni, Peanut butter, caked and dry, Curdled milk and crusts of pie,

Moldy melons, dried-up mustard, Eggshells mixed with lemon custard, Cold French fried and rancid meat, Yellow lumps of Cream of Wheat. At last the garbage reached so high That it finally touched the sky. And all the neighbors moved away, And none of her friends would come to play. And finally Sarah Cynthia Stout said, "OK, I'll take the garbage out!"

But then, of course, it was too late. . . The garbage reached across the state, From New York to the Golden Gate. And there, in the garbage she did hate, Poor Sarah met an awful fate, That I cannot now relate

Because the hour is much too late. But children, remember Sarah Stout And always take the garbage out!

Answer: Dynamic • The answer is dynamic because Sylvia does state, "OK, I'll take the garbage out!"showing that she does change her mind and viewpoint….however it was just too late.

Rip Van Winklesummary • One day long ago Rip Van Winkle took a walk in the woods. While he was in the woods he fell asleep. He slept, and slept, and slept, and slept. He slept for twenty years. When he woke up the world around him had changed. Rip still felt the same, but his wife had aged, his children were married, and someone else was living in his house.

Answer: Static • Rip Van Winkle slept for twenty years and his entire life, family, and home changed, but Rip “still felt the same.” • Rip Van Winkle’s world around him may have changed, but he did not.

Assignment • Use your imagination and write a short story (one-page) that contains either a dynamic or a static character. • Use your graphic organizers to review the characteristics of static and dynamic characters before you begin • Good-Luck and have fun!

Questions?

Static and Dynamic Characters