Littrell 1

Baker Littrell

Jeni Tetamore

English Comp 1

January 30th, 2023

The Clouds and Caves of Character Development

Character development is something we use from day to day. Masks that help us in

gaining new friends and protecting ourselves from pain. Whatever the case, these masks help to

keep reality from going astray. Keeping up with others reactions is a very human thing, much

like the runt of a litter of kittens trying to keep up with its siblings. I am going into this topic to

see just how complex our masks can be and a way of breaking down our walls that keep us from

new enjoyment. In doing so, hopefully finding more expansive ways of articulating concepts and

opinions in a more captivating way.

Methodology

These concepts are very psychological, but there is a main component that makes it

physical, emotional attachment. In the three assignments that we will be covering, I would like to

delve into human thought and see what becomes when not under the pressure of “saying what’s

right.” For the narrative, I would like to dig into some of my own experience and see if there’s a

bridge between my thoughts and masks. For the advertisement, I am thinking about doing

something that changes perception. It’s hard to see the world through another’s eyes or feelings,

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so I will try to see if my thoughts and raw emotion can break through some of the emotional

walls we’ve built and change the way we think about ourselves or others. The research and

analysis will be especially intriguing because emotion is entirely subjective, yet despite this,

most of us know the difference between pride and pain. Even though it’s not a physical

manifestation, it’s a specialized concept that humanity has been developing and investigating

since its birth.

The audience is of course the greatest friend of an actor but for those not in the spotlight

can quickly turn to nightmare. Therefore, these ideas I’m looking forward to exploring are

complex and not suited for younger audiences, so I wish to stay at the adult table, so to speak.

These audiences will also provide me with additional fuel to add to my metaphorical fire and

allow me to expand my horizon that much more.

Potential risks and obstacles are a part of human life. There is no up if you don’t go

down. Pianos without black keys would not sound as pretty and such is so for life. The point of

that analogy leads me to the first major obstacle specifically in my case, depression. The up and

downs of life are like a rollercoaster to most, unfortunately mine feel more like I’m on a bicycle,

hard to get up steep hills but has to be done nonetheless, these bursts usually don’t impact my

work from week to week usually but every now and then I may feel as if there’s a chisel going

through the wall around my metaphorical heart. While this will hurt on one hand, it also provides

me solace in knowing that it helps my work, changing perception of emotions.

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In conclusion, character development is a lot of digging into hard emotion and breaking

down figurative walls and masks. Perception is subjective and what we need is merely what we

think is expected. I would like to break these masks and in doing so, hope to see brighter trees

and falling leaves among starry skies. In the grand scheme, we make a mask to fit in and not get

hurt. But scar our face to chisel that mask every step of the way.