The issue of spotting a hero's personality in a novel is an issue of finding a peculiar personality that can always impress and fascinate readers freshly in the whole course of description.
Chairman
"The writer should discover the character of man for literature. The writer, who has not discovered the exceptional character of the hero, has no right to start writing."
In a novel in which life to be portrayed should be broad and deep and create an era's image, a hero, as a person who embodies the theme, represents the caste and carries the drama of a long literary story, needs to be in their own position.
A hero's personality in a novel should be one of peculiar attraction.
The hero who has to lead the broad plot in the center has much heavier load than their counterpart in other form of stories. Readers increasingly count on the hero with the change of each chapter and the development of events. If the hero's personality is plain and an open-and-shut case, it can hardly interest and impress readers, though interesting events are unfolded. It suggests that the hero's character in a novel needs to have charm and depth that can lead readers to the succession of fascination and emotion.
A charming hero is the one which makes to the level of the conclusion of the theme intended by the author, ushering readers in the constant emotional flow of tension and relaxation, accumulation and explosion of emotion.
First of all, an attractive hero has a new and unique ideological and spiritual aspiration that embodies the theme the author has discovered.
The greatest interest of readers is in their interest in the theme raised and also interest in the attitudes and viewpoints of the hero of them. Readers, once the theme is raised, not only count on the main and other character for its solution, but think about its solution on their own. Then, when the hero finds the solution beyond other characters' and readers' imagination, and the solution is noble and original enough to be admired, people are deeply fascinated by the character.
In the novel "Arduous March" from a cycle of novels "Immortal History", let us examine in detail the fascinating personality of the President as a great man.
Ju Yong Chan, the company commander was very guilty that he came back alone after losing all his comrades-in-arms in the battle due to the line of Expedition to Rehe of the "Left" adventurists, so he asked the President to punish him. At that time the President asked him what mistake he had made and whether he had been guilty of surviving alone miraculously, and severely reproached him for losing the pride of a revolutionary and crying like a weak human being.
Not only Ju Yong Chan but also the readers are moved by the noble ideological and spiritual world of the President who appreciates the warm heartedness of the company commander, and regards weak will as a more serious matter, not as the commander who is responsible for the military discipline and the victory of the battle.
He asked the commanding officers, who were only keen on how to break through the encirclement among the enemies, to hold a meeting for ten days, not for a day or two.
It is not a meeting for discussing the practical issue of repelling the large-scale offensive of the one million-strong Kwantung Army, but a meeting for adjusting the spirit of those who are out of their senses. Therefore, Pak Dok San feels great admiration in the noble ideological and spiritual world of the President who finds a way to overcome the difficulties in the ideological and mental strength of human being. Besides, Pak Dok San and all soldiers are stirred up by the noble ideological and spiritual world of the President's love for the soldiers who gives an urgent order to make new uniforms for the whole units though it can't remove the bruises of the mind of Ju Yong Chan and other soldiers.
As seen above, the great personality of the President, who makes original conclusions on the arising issues in the ideological and spiritual level which no one has ever thought of, is the main factor in keeping with the readers.
The ideological and spiritual world of the manager, Ri Chung Hyon in the novel "Joy" always exceeds people's expectations and fascinates them as it is based on the spirit of devotedly carrying out the party's policy and unshakable faith in the truthfulness of the Taean work system.
He touches the heartstrings of people in constant tension and relaxation, regarding all the issues of work and life as those of being genuine masters of management, not simple producing and working-level-oriented issues, furthermore, as those concerning the destiny of socialism and addressing everything from the standpoint of a genuine master.
All these illustrate well how important the ideological and spiritual inclination of the hero is in determining their character charm.
A charming hero is also the one who has beautiful and noble moral and ethical traits as foundation.
A character without beautiful and noble character foundation is against the aesthetic feelings of readers and denounced to say nothing of disinterest in them. Readers are also sympathetic to negative heroes in terms of their fate because they are, in spite of their character being drifted away from the main current of the time, qualities of human beauty, namely nice human foundation.
Of course according to the desire of the times the charms of the characters vary. In a word the viewpoint of the readers and the characters of the heroes are different. However, there are some cases in which beautiful and charming characters of the heroes are created transcending the times. They are all noble moral and ethic characters such as love for people, braveness, a sense of justice, etc. Since they are based on the noble human nature they have decorated the literature history with the new and beautiful characters and heroes of the times with the spirit of the times and features.
The character charm of Yu Chol, the hero in the novel "Thickly-Thriving Sunflowers" is based on the ethical and moral traits, such as his warm-hearted love and human feelings for the country and humans, his steady and frank personality, fidelity and others.
Such ethical and moral traits as his are presented intensively when he is in front his wife's grave. When he visited his wife's grave with others he never shed a tear. But when he visited it again on his way to revolution, he weeps a man's weeping. This scene touches readers' hearts beyond description. In this scene, the hero's character is expressed by his indefinite frankness in his love for his wife, his love and fidelity which has been cherished or renewed as a revolutionary comrade, a human being and love for the country and loyalty to the revolution.
His personality foundation has become more manifest ever since he got to know the idea that revolution is precisely the greatest affection for human beings when he met the President.
It was his enthusiasm of human and comradely love he showed in dealing with all the characters, such as Pak Tu Song, Kim Ik Po, Pak Tu Hyon, Ro Chae Suk, Ssanggamae, Pong I, the character of which boundlessly impresses and surprises readers. This is just the ethical and moralistic foundation that makes Yu Chol an attractive hero.
Let's further look at the foundation of forming the character charm of Choe Jung Yol, the hero in the novel "Long Way."
The first scene in which he writes a letter of split to his girlfriend fascinates readers with his peculiar character.
The core of his character is his aspiration to go the long way of scientific research with high ideal. And frank feeling of the suffering caused by departure from his girlfriend, his lenience and generosity with which he pinpoints her low spiritual aspiration, but is never negative about her, and his willingness to travel his own way invariably though lonely form the foundation of his fascinating personality.
An attractive hero is the one with clear contrast of each element of inner world, temperaments and appearance forming their personality and with their harmonious combination.
Human personality, which is formed and expressed in the specific lives of humans with agony, joy, unhappiness, tears and laughs, flowers and thorns, can not be one-sided. In reality, all the elements of human character are organically integrated and united each other and are diverse in its combination. Though somebody has a high degree of ideological and spiritual aspiration, is rich in human nature and manifest in temperament, one-sided and unilateral expression of such elements cannot be said to be a close charming character. A charming character finds its expression in harmonious combination and unity of all these elements only.
Let's look how Yu Chol's character charm is expressed in the novel "Thickly-Thriving Sunflowers."
"He has never thought a man could cry in front of his wife's death. However, thinking about his wife standing in front of approaching flames and her firm and uncorrupted mind, Yu Chol unsparingly wept. The snow was covering the grave and Yu Chol stood still as a rock for a long time." (harmony of solidity as a rock with sensible feelings, ardent affection for human beings and determination to embark on the road of revolution)
‘Tu Hyon looked down at the large and strong hands of Chil Song (Yu Chol) which wrapped his and pressed. Those hands hardened in manual labor, broad and receding forehead, shining eyes, warm human feelings and high profile, meticulous sentiment and broad knowledge of this horse cart driver in hemp jacket. How well they are all harmonized!" (harmony between strong hands and intelligence in the face, harmony between ragged clothes and ardent human feelings and high personality, agreement between meticulous emotion and much knowledge)
"He doesn't look unusually simple, while getting up under the light. He is outstanding, not only by his well-built body but also by his excellent ears, eyes, mouth and nose. With his gentle and careful forehead and eyes, he tries to bow, but he has something to attract others." (harmony between soft, careful attitude and well-built, outstanding appearance, harmony between humble attitude and charisma appealing to people)
As seen above, the most important thing in writing of novels is to have full command of the character of attractive heroes.
