Character Development And Strategical Writing Essay Research

Character Development And Strategical Writing Essay, Research Paper

Marion Zimmer Bradley, a book critic, says The Skystone is “one of the most interesting historical novels that I’ve ever read, and I’ve read plenty”(Front cover). In writing, success is generally a direct result of an author being able to keep a reader interested. Jack Whyte is an interesting and successful author throughout The Skystone and The Singing Sword because of his development of characters and his ability to write strategically. Character development is an important element in a story because if readers feel strongly about the characters, they are interested in reading further, and are more apt to enjoy the novel. Jack Whyte effectively develops the characters Caius Britannicus and Claudius Seneca through their words and actions in The Skystone and The Singing Sword, creating a strong impression of these characters in the mind of the reader. Another crucial element to Jack Whyte’s success is his strategical writing. His ability to seize the attention of a reader immediately, and to maintain that level of intrigue throughout the novel until his climactic ending is reached, demonstrates a well planned writing strategy, and is a significant contribution to his success. In The Skystone and The Singing Sword, Jack Whyte’s character development and strategical writing create and maintain the interest of the reader, exhibiting a basis for his success.

In Jack Whyte’s novels, he develops his characters effectively, sparking the interest of the reader. In The Skystone and The Singing Sword, one of the characters that Whyte develops well is Caius Britannicus. Throughout these two novels, Britannicus’ development is seen through the eyes of Publius Varrus, the main character, and Britannicus’ eventual lifelong friend. From the very beginning of their friendship, Publius recognizes the qualities of Caius as a person, and as a leader, and describes them in The Skystone when saying,

From the outset of our relationship Britannicus invariably treated me with

military correctness, slightly warmed by courtesy and consideration. I found

him to be just, temperate, and dispassionate in his dealings with the men under

his command. But he could be awesome in his wrath when provoked by

incompetence or malfeasance. A rigid disciplinarian, he was implacable once

he had decided that punishment was in order. And never, at any time, did he

show any capacity for suffering fools gladly(37).

Although Caius does not initially strike the reader as a particularly amiable character, Jack Whyte continues to develop Britannicus and his friendship with Publius, revealing a more compassionate character. This side of Caius Britannicus is uncovered when in The Skystone it says, “Britannicus, it was observed, put the welfare of his men – their food, their equipment and their billets – above everything else”(49). As Caius and his friendship with Publius continue to develop throughout The Skystone and The Singing Sword, the reader comes to an understanding of Caius’ character, and realizes his positive role in the novels, valuing everything about his personality. The realization of the appreciation of Britannicus’ character comes at the end of The Singing Sword when he is murdered, and the reader shares the mourning of a lost friend with Publius. The strong feelings that the reader develops for Caius Britannicus in The Skystone and The Singing Sword demonstrates the effectiveness of Jack Whyte’s character development.

Another character Jack Whyte develops effectively in these two novels is Caesarius Claudius Seneca. Before his character is even introduced into the story, the Seneca family is established as detestable by Caius when he says to Publius in The Skystone, “Humph! You must be a man of great subtlety, to bring out the decency in a Seneca”(34). Publius meets Claudius Seneca for the first time when Seneca begins ordering Publius and his friend Plautus around while they are relaxing at a mansio. Whyte’s development of Seneca becomes clear quite quickly in The Skystone as Plautus describes Claudius when saying, “The face of a god, the personality of a pit viper and a lust to be famed as the most degenerate swine in history”(138). Seneca’s development as a villain progresses as he picks a fight with Publius, resulting in a victory for Publius, and the accretion of a lifelong enemy in Caesarius Claudius Seneca. As a result of this conflict, Seneca later kills two of Publius’ friends while searching for him, adding to the malevolence of his character. To avenge the deaths of his friends, Publius Varrus arranges for Claudius Seneca to be kidnaped. Publius is certain he has killed Seneca once and for all when he says in The Skystone, “I jerked my arm back hard, wrenching my blade from his chest, and watched as he fell, first to his knees and then forward onto his face”(346). Jack Whyte develops Seneca as a villain that seems superhuman when he is discovered to have survived the stab wound. Seneca commits his final deed of treachery when he goes to Publius’ house and kills his friends Caius, Plautus and Enid. In that room of death, Publius describes how he kills Seneca in The Singing Sword by saying, “I raised Excalibur high above my head and swung it down with all my strength, striking Caesarius Claudius Seneca’s head from his body”(599). The dislike the