Print this page Best Of The Best: Famous Literary Characters

Of all the characters we meet in our reading lives, there are few who become very real to us – so real that we feel we actually know them. In this course we will look at how it is that writers can sometimes achieve this by the way in which they use description, conversation and interaction. This is not going to be a highly academic course, rather a collection of starting points for students to put forward their own ideas. The texts are well known, so there’s Elizabeth Bennet and her Darcy, Sydney Carton and Captain Corelli, Mr Collins and Mrs Danvers and lots of others as well, grouped under the units 'Men With Attitude', 'Feisty Females', 'A Congregation of Clerics', 'Minor Characters with Clout', and 'American Marvels'.

This is a Discussion Group course, if you aren’t already part of a group please see ‘Getting Started’ below.

Independent Study Discussion Courses are for study by groups without a tutor, so there is no need to write reports. These courses were written by tutors who have now since retired from the Discussion Group Program. Some courses were written a number of years ago, and therefore contain references to events which are now more historical than current, however, all are entertaining, well-produced and worthwhile.
 

COURSE INFORMATION

Course Author: Judy Hartshorne

Course Code: D207

Supplied Material: Course Booklet

Units & Pricing: 5 units / $44 per person

GETTING STARTED

Start your Group: Anyone can start a Discussion Group – seek out some like-minded friends or put up a notice in your local library, bookshop or workplace. Please note a minimum of 6 people is required to start a new discussion group.

Arrange the Meetings: New groups need to decide where and when to meet, and for how long – whatever best suits members' particular situations.

Run your Group: Choose a secretary to liaise with WEA and your tutor, a Discussion Leader to chair meetings, a reporter to take discussion notes to send to your tutor, and maybe a librarian to look after the books.

Start the Course: Contact WEA Sydney to enrol. Bookings can be made for one year, divided into two terms – Term 1 commences in February, Term 2 in July (Groups may make forward bookings for popular choices). Please indicate in what order your Group wishes to study the courses, if more than one course is booked.