CHARACTER DEV.

QUESTIONNAIRE

1. Who is your main character? Why should we be interested in him? What attracts you to
him? (Always read: “or her”). How do you make us empathize with him?

The main character is a 60-year-old high school professor who has led a life of routine and
unful lled potential. We should be interested in him because his story is about a common human
condition - the con ict between comfort and adventure. His late realization and regret speaks to
the universal fear of wasted potential and the desire for meaningful existence. We should
empathize with him through his vulnerabilities and regrets, which we will see during his
subconscious journey.

2. Why do you believe we will nd him sympathetic? What is the reason exactly?

We will nd the character sympathetic because he embodies a universal human experience: the
struggle between ful lling one’s potential and succumbing to the safety of routine. His regret in his
nal moments reveal a deeply relatable vulnerability, reminding us of our own fears and
aspirations. The tragedy of his unrealized dreams and the courage that he shows trying to break
free, even at the end, evoke empathy and re ection on our own lives.

3. What makes us curious about him? What is his “mystery”? What is his “magic”, his
charisma? How does it show?

What makes us curious about the professor is the contrast between his boring mundane life and
the rich inner world he experiences in his nal moments. The mystery lies in his unseen potential.
His magic/charisma comes from his nal act of bravery - trying to stop a mugging, which reveals
a hidden side of his personality.

4. What does he think of his father? What does he hate and like about him? What in uence
did his father have on him?

He admires his father’s work ethic, discipline and sense of responsibility. However, he also resents
him and feels that his father’s expectations and conservative outlook on life held back his
aspirations and creativity. His in uence is clear in the professor’s career choice and his methodical
approach to life.

5. His mother? How does he think of her? What does he hate and like about her? What
in uence did she(in his opinion) have on him?

He admires his mother. Her kindness and care have been a refuge for him, especially in the face
of his father’s strictness. He is also frustrated with her. He feels that his mother, while loving, was
overly protective or “passive”, failing to encourage him to break free from the lifestyle of his father.

6. His brothers, sisters? What does he like about them? Why? What does he despise?

He is a an only child.

7. What type of discipline was he subjected to at home? Strict? Lenient?

He was subjected to a very strict type of discipline. He learned about duty and responsibility at a
very young age.

8. What was the economic status of the family? Any adverse situations?

His family belonged to the middle class, living a modest but stable life. This economic status
provided a sense of security and stability, which in uenced the professor’s values and life choices.
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 9. Divorce, illness, alcoholism, etc.?

He was never married.

10. What was the religious atmosphere in his family? How does he feel about religion
himself?

He thinks of himself as nominal orthodox. His family would attend and abide to some religious
events and traditions, but they were not religious so to say.

11. Is he smart, intelligent, slow witted? Clever?

He is de nitely smart, and has a well thought out answer for everything. He is the kind of person
that would argue with himself a lot, in order to be sure that he does something correctly.

12. How did he do in school? What grade did he graduate(or drop out) from? How does he
see himself? Smart? Intelligent? Uneducated? How does his education and intelligence
re ect in his speech pattern, vocabulary and pronunciation?

He did well in school academically, achieving good grades. He graduated high school with
honours and proceeded to pursue higher education, at least a bachelor’s degree. He sees himself
as intelligent and knowledgeable within his eld of expertise, but despite his academic
achievements, he has doubts about his own potential outside the realm of academia.

13. Did he like school, his teachers, his schoolmates? What was he interested and involved
in the most? What are his political beliefs?

He had a mixed relationship with school. He enjoyed the academic challenge and excelled in
natural sciences. His respect for education helped with his relationships with teachers who
supported academic pursuits. He was mostly interested in the natural sciences such as biology
and astronomy. His political beliefs lean towards moderation and stability. He values pragmatism
over extremes and given his focus on science and education, he may prioritize policies that
support research and education reform.

14. What does he do for a living? How does he see his profession? As a “job”? As a
“career”? What does he like about it what does he dislike?

He is a high school professor, a profession he sees as both a job and a career. At times he may
view teaching as a job, a means to earn a living and provide stability. But on a deeper level, he
also sees teaching as a career. He values the impact he can have on students. His profession as a
high school biology professor shapes his identity and worldview.

15. Did he travel? Where? Why? What did he nd abroad and what does he remember?

He never travelled, and he lived in the one city all of his life.

16. What were his deepest disillusionments in life?

His primary disillusionment is a sense of regret for opportunities he let slip away, most likely
personal relationships, experiences that could have enriched his life, and most importantly never
doing something exciting.

17. What are his manners like? What is his type of hero? Whom does he hate?

He is quiet and reserved. Polite and respectful, yet with a strong tendency towards introversion.
He only interacts with his coworkers in the school, where he has to and never outside of his
workplace. His type of hero is someone who embodies courage and who follows their passions
fearlessly.
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18. What are his friends? His love mates? What is his “type” of the opposite sex, his “ideal”
partner? What does he want from his partner? What does he think and feel about sex?

His “friends” were colleagues and individuals who share his intellectual interests. His love
interests were few, but he’s ideal partner would be someone who understands his introspective,
anti-social nature, but also someone who pushes him to be more active. His views on sex are tied
to emotional connection rather than casual.

19. What social groups and activities does he attend? What role does he like to play? What
role does he actually play, usually?

He rarely attends academic conferences. In them, he is the quiet person in the audience who is
there just to listen and waits to hear some new advancements in his eld.

20. What are his hobbies and interests? What does he do for fun?

Once a week, he plays chess with an old friend of his. He doesn’t do anything fun, at least not
until he learns that he is dead. Then he ips a switch and does all sorts of fun things such as
going to luna parks, driving go-karts, swimming in the lake, etc.

21. What does his home look like? His taste? His dress? His furniture? His hair? Beard,
whiskers, (make-up)? How does he relate to his own appearance? How does he dress?
Style of it? Quality?

His home is tidy, functional and simple. He dresses casually, often wearing comfortable things like
button-down shirts, sweaters, and dress pants. His hair is tidy and he has a modest beard.

22. Who is his mate? How does he relate to her? How did he make this choice?

He is alone, and has never been married.

23. What role does he play at home? What role would he like to play?

24. Does he have children? How does he feel about his parental role? About the children?
His ambitions? How do the children relate to him?

He doesn’t have children.

25. How does he react to stressful situations? Defensively? Aggressively? Evasively?

His response to stressful situations is evasive or avoidant. He tries to avoid that type of situation
by not placing himself there in the rst place. But if it happens to be in one anyway, he would
leave, therefore maintaining a sense of control.

26. Does he drink? Take drugs? Does he feel self righteous? Revengeful? Does he always
rationalize his errors? How does he accept disasters and failures? Does he like to su er?
Does he like to see other people su ering? Is he manipulative? Does he abdicate
responsibility for things?

He doesn’t drink, or use drugs. He doesn’t see himself as self-righteous or revengeful. He

rationalizes his errors as learning opportunities and accepts disasters. He doesn’t seek su ering
for himself or other, and he is not manipulative. He takes responsibility for his actions.

27. How is his imagination? Daydreaming a lot? Worried most of the time? Living in
memories?
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He is a professional daydreamer. He is always imagining himself doing crazy stu , and he is not
worried about that, he just feels regret. His imaginations is of how things could have been.

28. Is he basically negative when he faces new things? Suspicious? Hostile? Scared?
Enthusiastic? What does he like to ridicule? What does he nd stupid? How is his sense of
humor? Is he aware of himself, his weak spots, idiosyncrasies? Is he capable of self irony?

He approaches new things cautiously. He nds humor in absurd topics, but generally avoids
ridiculing others. He is aware of his weaknesses and idiosyncrasies, and he is capable of self
irony.

29. What does he want the most? What does he need really badly, compulsively? What is he
willing to do, to sacri ce to obtain what he desires?

Even though it might seem like he wants recognition for his intellectual abilities, what he wants the
most is to be free of routine, and free of that sense of security. He wants to do things
compulsively. Even though very late, he sacri ces his life in order to live in some other, di erent
way. To experience life di erently.

30. How badly does he want to get what he claims as his life objectives? How does he
pursue them?

His desire to live freely and have fun is a deeply held aspiration is something that is buried
beneath years of routine and responsibility.

31. Is he tall? Short? His weight? How does he feel about his size, weight? His posture? His
walk? Does he want to project an image of a younger, older, more important person? Does
he want to be visible or invisible?

He is short, overweight but with healthy posture. He mostly walks and acts as though he is
invisible, but in reality he really strives to project an image of a fun person.

32. What are his habitual physical gestures? Vigorous? Weak? Controlled? Compulsive? Is
he energetic or sluggish?

He is energetic. His physical gestures are typically controlled and deliberate. He moves with a
measured pace. He is mostly re ecting his thoughtful and introspective nature.

33. His voice? Pitch? Strength? Tempo, rhythm of speech? Pronunciation? Accent?

His tempo of speech is pretty slow when he things. But his thoughts are fast. His pronunciation is
clear and articulate. His voice speech pattern re ect his intellectual depth.

34. Do you like him? Hate him? Why do you need to write about him? Why should people be
excited about him?

I like him. I feel the need to write about him because I know how it is to feel like you are missing
out on fun things to do. A life lived in routine is something that is a tragedy for every single
person, yet it is something that we as people seem to nd huge comfort in. I can only imagine 60
years of it. And I think that people should be excited about him because he takes the last chance
to act upon that, and to free himself from that type of a life, and even though it didn’t change
anything, for him, it might be enough to know how it feels to be truly free.
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