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How to Identify Character Relationships

Looking at characters and characterization is an important part of the study of literature. If you learn how to identify relationships between characters in a book or story, it will help you to understand and analyze whichever text you're studying. Sometimes defining the relationship between two characters is straightforward, but other times an author might make a relationship deliberately obtuse in order to build mystery and intrigue or for dramatic effect.

Instructions

    • 1

      Look for words that specifically describe one character's relationship to the other, such as "brother," "friend," "rival," "husband" or "wife."

    • 2

      Identify any intense ups and downs in the relationship between two characters, as this may signal a budding romantic relationship. For instance, if one character really likes another at one moment, and in the next moment thinks that she's being unkind towards him or ignoring him.

    • 3

      Find verbs that describe the feeling of one character toward another, such as "love," "hate," "like" or "admire."

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Literature

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