In The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy meets three characters, each in search of a single quality: The Cowardly Lion would be “brave as a blizzard” if he only had some nerve; the Tin Woodsman would be “gentle as a lizard” if he only had a heart; and the Scarecrow would be “clever as a gizzard” if he only had a brain. In the beginning of The Wizard of Oz, writer L. Frank Baum characterizes Dorothy’s endearing travel companions as one-dimensional—the first one cowardly, the second dispassionate, and the third slow-witted.

Most fictional characters cannot be defined by a single adjective because most are multi-dimensional, sufficiently complex to capture the imagination of mature readers. In this lesson, you will discover some ways that writers reveal the complexity of their characters. By closely analyzing one author’s characters, you’ll come to see how their words, actions, and interactions with one another can shape a piece of fiction.