The Art Of Reportage

I. PrefaceThis theme, i.e., the art of character description, involves the understanding of the essence of the style of reportage, as well as the understanding of its central position. Reportage should be regarded as a literary style. In reportage, literalness, artistry, and aesthetic standars are substantial attributes, and character description is a central issueThis theme also touches on classification of this style. Reportage could be roughly classified into three basic types. The first one gives priority to plot-development with character description as subsidiary, while the second one gives priority to character description, with plot-development as subsidiary. The third one is simultaneously and equally concerned with the both. The cases discussed in this dissertation will focus on the second type of reportage. From part une through part five, the dissertation expounds on the methodology of character description, from part 6 through 8, the dissertation mainly deals with the nature of reportage.II. Highlighting Major Spirit of the CharactersCharacter description in reportage has to choose and highlight the disposition of the characters involved. Even in reportage focusing on plot-development, writers should also pay attention to character portrayal, not to mention character-centered-reportage. In the second type of reportage, the personality and spiritual nature of the characters should be emphasized and demonstrated. However, one should not comprehend the "coherence" of characters' spirit simply and narrowly: excellent works in reportage usually expose "abundance, complexity, and variability" of the spirit of the characters. Even though, behind this "abundance," there is always a single nature, which decisively prescribes the dominant inclination of the characters' dispositions.III. Demonstrating the Spirit and Appearance of the Characters with DetailsCharacter description in reportage relies on details; this is in contrast to news-reports, which usually give a general picture and outline. In this regard, description of details in reportage is also different from that in inventory-narrating literature. Reportage does not allow the presence of plot-fabricating, instead it heavily relies on details in order to give Ml play to their advantages. These details have to be real and compatible to the soul of the characters. Sometimes, "details" designate "general details" and "extensive details", serving as the equivalents of "events" or "assorted events."IV. Detecting the Soul of the CharactersNowadays, placing stress on psychological exploration has become a worldwide tendency in literature creation. Development of spiritual driving force should be a thread, which is both clear and developmental, with different phases. This psychological depiction has to be distinct: that is, the writer is required to select distinctive personalities from the stream of consciousness of the characters, and describe it by combining the words and behaviors of the characters. This description is frank, and the frankness is associated with the political comment, and is usually varied because of the variety resulting from different works.V. Setting-off Appearance of the Characters with Backdrop"Backdrop" in reportage might be summarized as: 1) Natural scenery, functioning to create a kind of lyric and poetic atmosphere; 2) Scene-description, which can be demonstrated through location-sketching, serving as the concrete location wherein the actions of the characters occur; 3) The relationship among the characters, which plays a role in demonstrating the process of growth of the characters. The circumstances stemming from the character-relationship can be further divided into three types: the first is homogenous circumstance accommodating to one's growth and development; the second is the so-called heterogeneous circumstance hindering or even disrupting the process mentioned above. But a more common case is that the two types of circumstance coexist, and the latter one often makes up a bigger proportion. 4)...