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At the core of a story’s message is a very simple issue – whether the author is telling us it is better to be like the main character or not.\u00a0 This is usually thought of as the\u00a0moral\u00a0<\/em>of the story and is proven to the readers or audience by how the main character fares after making a choice or taking a leap of faith at the climax.<\/p>\n For characters like Scrooge in \u00a0A Christmas Carol<\/em>, the message is that it is better to change one’s attitude toward others and adopt a new way of thinking.\u00a0 If you do, things will work out better.\u00a0 But for other characters, such as in Field of Dreams <\/em>or Rocky<\/em>, the message is to stick by your beliefs because that’s the only way to solve your problems.<\/p>\n Sometimes change is good, as with Scrooge. \u00a0But imagine if Ray had given up on building the ball field or Rocky Balboa had determined there was no way to win and he shouldn’t continue to try.<\/p>\n Stories can be written about characters who change or about characters who don’t.\u00a0 That’s the first part of the message.\u00a0 The second part is what happens to the character in the end as a result of their choice to change or not.<\/p>\n This results in four possibilities:<\/p>\n Each of the four combinations provides a different kind of message about changing or sticking to your beliefs.\u00a0 So far, so good.\u00a0 But now you need to get that message across to your readers or audience.<\/p>\n The first part of conveying your message is to be clear about the nature of the human quality or thought pattern that your moral is about.\u00a0 That aspect of your main character that defines him, just as Scrooge’s lack of concern for his fellow man is the issue at the heart of him.\u00a0 How you do this can be subtle or straight out, but by the time the moment of choice is upon your main character, your audience or reader needs to absolutely and with total clarity know what that issue is or your message will be unclear.<\/p>\n The second part of conveying your message is to show that as a result of his or her choice, your main character is better off or worse off than they were.\u00a0 This element of your message has two components:<\/p>\n For example, suppose you have a story in which a character changes his beliefs, achieves the goal, and is elated.\u00a0 That’s fine, and the message is that whatever his issue was, it was good he changed his point of view.\u00a0 But change is not always good, so in another story a character might change his beliefs, still achieve the goal, but be miserable in the end because he hadn’t resolved his anguish or he had to take on an emotional burden to accomplish his quest.\u00a0 For example, in Avengers: Infinity War, the villain Thanos has to kill the person he loves the most to accomplish his goal, and this leaves him logistically satisfied yet emotionally devastated.<\/p>\n On the opposite side, a character might remain steadfast in his beliefs, fail in the goal but find personal salvation or true happiness in the end. \u00a0Or a character might remain steadfast, succeed in the goal but be left personally raw.\u00a0 An example of this last combination can be seen in Silence of the Lambs in which Clarice Starling is successful in saving the senator’s daughter, but could not let go of the screaming lambs in her memory, as pointed out in the end by Hannibal Lecter (“Tell me, Clarice,” are the lambs still screaming?”)\u00a0 This is why the ending music over her graduation ceremony is so somber – she achieved the goal but could not let go of her angst.<\/p>\n And, of course, you can have the quintessential tragedy in which a change or a steadfast character fails and the goal and is miserable in the end, such as in Hamlet, or the penultimate feel good story in which a change or steadfast character both succeeds in the goal and find (or holds onto) great happiness, true love, etc., as in the original Star Wars movie (Episode IV)<\/p>\n The point here is that change, in and of itself, is neither good nor bad until you see the results of that change. \u00a0And also, a character does not have to change to grow, but can grow in his or her resolve.<\/p>\n And finally, the ramifications don’t have to be cut and dried: all good or all bad. \u00a0Rather, by treating the goal and the emotional outcome separately, you have the opportunity to temper your message with bitter sweet and sweet bitter endings as well, thereby creating a more complex message for your readers or viewers.<\/p>\n Melanie Anne Phillips<\/em>\n
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\nCo-creator, StoryWeaver<\/em>
\nCreator, Dramatica<\/em><\/p>\nThe concepts in this article
\nare from StoryWeaver<\/a><\/em><\/h2>\n
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