Flowers For Algernon

As has been indicated by writers and writing coaches, in a good story, characters create conflict; consequently, conflict creates drama. In addition, a story shows more depth if its characters go through changes. The question is: how can a writer go about showing the changes inside his characters during the trajectory of the story? Let us take a brief look at how some characters may go through a change in a story. If a story is written from the first person point of view, the character may show the workings of his mind through the narration of his feelings, or the change can be followed in a character's journal. In Flowers for Algernon, by Daniel Keyes, the main character, Charlie Gordon, keeps a journal of his progress throughout the story to let us follow the drastic change in his mental progress and decline. In a play, a character may show his inner change and his inner workings through asides and soliloquies.

The change can also be shown through the interaction of characters called confidantes. A confidante is someone in whom a character confides his inner turmoil, joys, and sorrows, thus revealing the gradual or abrupt change in his make-up. In The Door into Summer, Robert Heinlein's Dan Davis talks to his cat Pete, letting the reader see how his plans and feelings are changing. If a major character has his opposite, at the end of the story when that character has gone through a change, the reader finds that the character's understanding and values has neared to that of his opposite. An opposite in a story, sometimes called the foil, need not be the antagonist to the protagonist. A foil is someone whose character contrasts the character of the protagonist or any other important character to highlight the protagonist's or another important character's personality.

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