Minor Characters and What They Are For · 次要人物及其作用
Minor characters usually stay the same
- Minor characters often remain unchanged because the narrative doesn't focus on them.
- The CED gives the reason with the fact — it is a matter of narrative attention, not of their nature.
- So an unchanged minor character is not badly drawn; they were never the subject.
A minor character may stay unchanged because the story’s camera was busy elsewhere, not because they failed character school.
次要人物通常保持不变
- 次要人物常常保持不变,因为叙事并不聚焦于他们。
- CED 在给出事实的同时给出了原因——这是叙事注意力的问题,不是他们本性的问题。
- 因此不发生变化的次要人物并非写得差;他们从来就不是主题。
次要人物没有变化，也许是故事的镜头忙着拍别人，不是因为他没通过“人物成长课”。
Minor characters often remain unchanged because... · 次要人物往往保持不变，因为……
It is a matter of narrative attention, not of their nature. · 这是叙事关注度的问题，而非他们的本质问题。
They may be there to do a job
- They may only be part of the narrative to advance the plot or to interact with major characters.
- Two functions, both worth naming when you write about one.
- Only is the CED's word, and it licenses you to say a character exists for a purpose.
他们可能是来做一件事的
- 他们出现在叙事中,可能仅仅是为了推进情节或与主要人物互动。
- 两项功能,在你写到某个次要人物时都值得点出。
- "仅仅"是 CED 用的词,它允许你说某个人物是为某个目的而存在的。
Select all · 所有 the functions the CED gives minor characters. · 选择CED给出的次要人物的所有功能。
The CED names exactly those two, with the word only. · CED恰好提到了这两个，并使用了单词 only（仅仅）。
Change, or its absence, shapes interpretation
- Readers' interpretations of a text are often affected by a character changing — or not — and the meaning conveyed by such changes or lack thereof.
- So the CED treats not changing as carrying meaning, on equal terms with changing.
- An unchanged character in a book where everyone else changes is a measurement, and often a judgement.
变化或其缺席,塑造阐释
- 读者对文本的阐释,常常受人物是否发生变化、以及这种变化或不变所传达之意义的影响。
- 因此 CED 把不发生变化视为承载意义,与发生变化地位相当。
- 在一本人人都在改变的书里保持不变的人物,是一次测量,而且往往是一次评判。
What is this minor character doing? · 这个次要人物在做什么？
Sort each case by the function it serves. · 根据其服务的功能对每种情况进行排序。
A character who does not change conveys no meaning. · 不发生变化的人物传达不了任何意义。
The CED names the meaning conveyed by such changes or lack thereof. · CED指出了此类变化或其缺失所传达的意义。
Not changing carries meaning too. The CED says interpretations are affected by a character changing or not — and by the meaning conveyed by such changes or lack thereof. Treating an unchanged character as an oversight throws away a measurement the novel built for you.
不发生变化同样承载意义。CED 说阐释受人物是否变化或不变的影响,也受这种变化或不变所传达之意义的影响。把不变的人物当作疏漏,就扔掉了这部小说为你搭好的一把尺子。
Because a minor character stays fixed, they can be used as a ____ of how far a major one moved. · 因为次要人物保持不变，他们可以被用作衡量主要人物走了多远的____。
A conversation repeated at the start and the end isolates the change perfectly. · 在开头和结尾重复的一段对话能完美地隔离出变化。
Use the minor character as a measure
- Because a minor character stays fixed, they show you how far the major one has moved.
- A conversation repeated at the start and the end, with the same person, isolates the change perfectly.
- So the strongest use of a minor character in an essay is usually as a control, not as a subject.
把次要人物当作标尺
- 正因为次要人物固定不动,他们让你看出主要人物移动了多远。
- 开头与结尾各有一次与同一个人的对话,能把变化完美地隔离出来。
- 因此在文章中,次要人物最有力的用法通常是作为对照组,而不是作为主题。
Put the minor-character pass in order. · 将次要人物分析按顺序排列。
The fixity is evidence, not an absence of evidence. · 这种固定性是证据，而非缺乏证据。
A minor-character pass
- Name which of the two functions this character serves: advancing plot, or interacting with a major character.
- Check whether they change; if not, say what their fixity measures.
- Then say what the meaning of that unchanged state is for the reader's interpretation.
次要人物检查
- 说出这个人物承担两项功能中的哪一项:推进情节,还是与主要人物互动。
- 检查他们是否变化;若没有,说出他们的固定丈量了什么。
- 然后说出这种不变的状态对读者的阐释意味着什么。
The neighbour asks the same question in chapter one and in the last chapter: "Will you be staying, then?" She has not changed at all. He answers yes the first time and cannot answer at all the second — and her fixity is the only reason we can see how far he has gone.
邻居在第一章和最后一章问了同一个问题:*"那么,你会留下吗?"*她一点也没有变。他第一次回答"会",第二次却根本答不上来——而正是她的固定不动,让我们看得出他走了多远。
Minor characters often remain unchanged because the narrative doesn't focus on them, and may only be there to advance the plot or interact with major characters. Change — or its absence — affects interpretation, so an unchanged character is a measurement of how far the major one moved.
次要人物常常保持不变,因为叙事并不聚焦于他们,而且他们可能仅仅是为了推进情节或与主要人物互动而存在。变化——或其缺席——影响阐释,因此不变的人物是主要人物移动多远的一把尺子。