Enhancing understandings of the literary element of character using elements from Systemic Functional Linguistics

According to Peha (2016), fiction is all about character. What a character wants, how they go about getting it, and how they change throughout the trajectory of the narrative are key factors that drive a story and make it meaningful. This paper integrates strategies from both narratology (Nikolajeva, 2002; 2005; Rimmon-Kenan, 2002) and linguistics (Martin & Rose, 2007; Martin & White, 2005) to analyse the representation of character in the novel Fairytales for Wilde Girls (Near, 2013). A framework for classroom work on the textual concept of character will be drawn from the analysis and teaching implications and strategies will be discussed.