Why in the literature a prototype? What is a collective image?

One can guess that all the main and secondary heroes of literary works are not invented by the author, but are written off from real people. If all the characters of the authors were pure fiction, then it is unlikely that the works themselves would be of interest to the reader. A fictional hero is ideal, and it's not interesting.

The concept of a prototype

Every character in a literary work has a double in real life. It can be a writer who created a masterpiece, acquaintances or relatives, and even an interesting historical personality. These people can be called prototypes of literary characters.

What is a prototype in the literature? This is the original image familiar to the writer in life or from historical books, which borrowed traits of character and appearance to create a literary hero. At the same time, the writer has the right to speculate the character, refine, complement his personality qualities. Often a writer creates such a literary image, choosing a prototype, that such a coincidence with a real person is not entirely accurate.

Prototype in realistic literature

Often, according to the idea of the writer appears prototype, which from beginning to end repeats the life and actions of the author himself. Such works are the most realistic, because they fully absorb the way of life and the views of the heroes of that era. Refer to this prototype writer in his autobiographical works.

Several prototypes - a collective image

There are so-called collective images. This is when the prototype of the hero is not one, but several. Creating a literary image, the author takes on several features at once for several people. A striking example is the work of M. Yu. Lermontov "Hero of Our Time", where Grushnitsky is a collective image.

children's literature

For children, a prototype is chosen in such a way that such a work becomes a close and understandable child, because the main character is a child. The young reader is fully aware of his actions. And where do the characters-children come from? Often the children of writers become prototypes. So Alice Selezneva appeared in The Secret of the Third Planet, the girl Murochka in the works of K. Chukovsky.

The daughter of Lewis Carroll Alice became the prototype of the main character in the work "Alice in Wonderland". Often the story told seems incredible and very interesting, and the names of the characters coincide with the names of the original and his friends. Sometimes readers can view the prototype. What does this concept mean when analyzing works? Reading a literary work, I want to know from which person the author wrote off the characters, whom they remind. It helps to feel the idea and the theme of the text.

But the prototype (what does this term mean, we disassembled above), it is possible, does not want the publicity of his name. Therefore, sometimes readers only have to guess and build theories about the prototype of this or that hero.