
His personality is limited to being the strong yet unintelligent servant of the General Zaroff. In the short story “The Most Dangerous Game”, the mute servant, Ivan, is a flat character. By including her in the story, the reader is able to receive additional viewpoints of the community during a controversial time, and it adds depth the town by showing the different residing citizens. She is characterized in the book as the town gossip. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the character Miss Stephanie Crawford is labeled as a flat character. Examples of Flat Characters in Literature In many situations such as the example of Newman from Seinfeld and the servants in Romeo and Juliet, the flat characters often bring comedy to the piece as well as a break from the constant action and drama. In the text, flat characters add balance to the piece. Through Nick’s narration, readers get an insight into his human mind, and all his emotions and whims.The Function of Flat Characters in Literatureįlat characters function in the sense that they support the main characters.

He appears to them as scared, mysterious, friendly, angry, happy, disappointed, and frustrated man throughout the novel. Readers learn about his different sides and different traits. He is a man of great mystery, because no one knows his whereabouts, or how he becomes rich. Gatsby is a tragic hero with a fatal flaw – that of obsession over his beloved Daisy. Scott Fitzgerald has introduced a complex and round character in Gatsby. Example #4: Gatsby, The Great Gatsby (by Scott Fitzgerald) Hamlet’s personality is contradictory, while he also encounters many contradictory situations. His contemplative nature also becomes his tragic flaw, and his lack of timely action becomes the cause of his tragedy.

Hamlet makes hasty decisions, yet he delays his revenge. He is a complex, enigmatic, and mysterious character that is knowledgeable, philosophical, intelligent, and thoughtful by nature. Yet another great example of a round character is Hamlet.
