z We might even think of such characters as the sort of people found
in sitcoms: the clueless dad, the wacky neighbor, the gay best friend,
the wisecracking child. Such characters are often just machines for
delivering or setting up jokes, and the moment they appear on screen,
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and the sudden anticipation of something funny that often makes such
characters so popular. They may be simple and predictable, but they are
also reliably satisfying.
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whenever they come in—recognized by the reader’s emotional eye.”
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they reappear. Whenever Bill Sikes reappears in Oliver Twist, we
immediately know that something bad will happen.
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easily remembered by the readers afterwards.” He goes on to say, “It
is a convenience for an author when he can strike with his full force at
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reintroducing, never run away, have not to be watched for development,
and provide their own atmosphere.”
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Characters who are simple but not memorable don’t really serve a purpose,
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character. Even minor characters can be round. George Wilson, the
working-class garage owner in 7KHUHDWDWVE\, appears in only a few
scenes, but late in the story, his grief after a tragic accident is one of the
most moving scenes in the novel. Someone who was just a caricature up
to that point—the clueless cuckolded husband—becomes, for a page or
two, a real human being.