Characters in a Historical Novel “Kha Bordin” by “Wannawat”: Techniqes of Character Presentation

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the character presentation techniques in a historical novel entitled Kha Bordin by Wannawat. The results showed two main techniques in presenting the characters: direct characterization and indirect characterization. For the direct characterization, characterization by the author and characterization by other characters were found whereas, in the indirect characterization, three methods were identified; actions, speech, and thoughts. The author presented real characters from history by giving the information in the historical evidence to prevent any historical distortion. In terms of characterization, the author could create the character’s qualities by different methods; for example, one character could be described by both speech and actions. Furthermore, it was remarkable that the direct characterization was found more often than the indirect one because this novel was a historical story in which all characters should be described with the real details and the same appearance as mentioned in the history.

Keywords

• narrative technique
• character
• historical novel