大象传媒

Introduction

Vladimir Propp was a folklorist researcher interested in the relationship between characters and .

Propp argued that stories are character driven and that plots develop from the decisions and actions of characters and how they function in a story.

He claimed characters could be classified into certain roles that progress a story.

These roles are:

Image gallerySkip image gallerySlide 1 of 7, Infographic showing The Villain character function in Propp's Theory, Type: the Villain Role: struggles to stop the hero in their quest

Non-fiction

Propp's ideas are also relevant in non-fiction print texts like newspapers which often portray politicians as villains if their decisions or policies aren't popular with the public. When someone has done a good deed for charity or helped in a daring rescue, newspapers often portray them as heroes.

Photograph of newspaper front pages from May 2015

Newspaper front pages from May 2015

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