Human and Non-human Characters

"Strangely enough, the first character in Fried Green Tomatoes was the cafe, and the town. I think a place can be as much a character in a novel as the people." -- Fannie Flagg


In addition to the two-dimensional and three-dimensional (see previous 'blog), your characters can be further subdivided into human and non-human characters. Although these names are deceptively simple, both types have at least two things in common:

1. Human and non-human characters will both be three-dimensional

2. Human and non-human characters will both be unique and important to the story in some way

It is likely (unless you are working on a seriously experimental story) that most of your characters will fit the "human" category. The human character is an individual. Qualities which define him or her include a capacity for independent thought, human or human-like behavior and thought patterns, a capacity for self-expression, the ability to feel, and clear, easily understood motivations. (The human character need not exhibit all or even most of these qualities; still, the audience will likely be able to see at least one or two...even if the character himself cannot).

Despite the description, however, the human character need not be an actual human being, or even look like one. Some, perhaps most of your characters will fit the classical definition humanity, but others may not. Some of the most interesting characters in literature and media, protagonist and antagonist alike, fit the non-human-but-still-human description. Frankenstein's monster is probably the earliest, or at least the most instantly recognizable example in modern literature (dating from 1818), but consider the following:

Jaws, title creature of the novel and movies of the same name; any number of the inhabitants of the Oz chronicles, from the Scarecrow and Tin Woodsman to the Cowardly Lion, Tik-Tok and others; Kong, title ape of the 1933 classic, two remakes and probably a half-dozen spinoffs and sequels; Star Trek's Doctor, Commander Data and dozens of others; Sauron and Gollum from J.R.R. Tolkien's classic Rings cycle; 2001: A Space Odyssey's psychotic supercomputer HAL 9000; and, perhaps, no fewer than half the inhabitants of the Star Wars universe. The list goes on.

 

Despite the fact that they may not look it, the thoughts and actions of Star Wars characters ranging from Jedi Master Yoda to the grotesque, slug-like Jabba the Hutt mark them as human characters.

The non-human character is a little more difficult to define, but there are things which can serve to differentiate them from human characters:

1. Non-human characters are vital to the plot, but often serve as backdrop or a motivating element

2. Non-human characters will never be shown to exhibit human or human-like behavior

3. Non-human characters will never be (or appear to be) sentient or self-aware in the classical sense

A fourth consideration is that it may only be considered to be a character (human or non-human) if it significantly adds to or changes the story and/or the other characters in some manner. If it fails to do either, it's backdrop or an event.

If the non-human character fails to follow any one of these guidelines, it becomes a human character. There will usually only be one or two non-human characters in any given story, although this is not a hard-and-fast rule (many stories will lack even a single non-human character). Non-human characters do not think, feel, express themselves or act on motivation; they simply exist. At the same time they can be important, sometimes vital to the story itself. Non-human characters may serve to drive the story in some way, but usually only in the way that their human counterparts react to them. Perhaps it might even be unthinkable to immerse oneself in a story if the non-human characters are not along for the ride. For example:

The One Ring from Tolkien's Rings cycle; the starship Enterprise from Star Trek; the planet Arakkis from author Frank Herbert's Dune franchise; the space station Babylon 5 in the television series of the same name; and the Star Wars franchise's Force (setting aside for one moment the Jedi herpes theory midichlorians), Death Star and Millennium Falcon. This is only a short list, of course, but it paints a picture of how important the non-human character can be to the story.

Perhaps it simply serves to entertain (Star Trek's Enterprise and Star Wars' Millennium Falcon are, in many ways, as instantly recognizable and as beloved to fans as the rest of the cast), but even the most entertaining non-human character can often serve to motivate or change the story's human characters. Perhaps it is only a single individual or community which is altered by the non-human character; perhaps it is the entire population of a nation, continent or even world. Or perhaps history itself will be altered by the existence of the non-human character.

 

Among the most instantly recognizable non-human characters in contemporary fiction and media are the Star Wars franchise's Millennium Falcon and Star Trek's NCC-1701 Enterprise. Although we may rarely if ever consider them to be characters in the traditional sense, they are beloved and indispensable members of their respective casts and we would miss their quirks and the characters' interactions with them should they disappear from the plot.

Next time: Temporal and Spacial Setting