Inanimate Objects as Characters

Write-Bytes Blog
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July 28, 2023
Topic: INANIMATE OBJECTS As CHARACTERS in YOUR STORY

We can all remember seeing the award-winning film, Castaway, with Tom Hanks. After crashing his plane, he’s stuck alone on a deserted island. All he’s got to comfort him is a volley ball which he aptly names Wilson. Hanks gives the object a face and some straw for hair. And in a flash, Wilson becomes a secondary character in the film. Is Wilson a pivotal character in this blockbuster? Some may argue, yes. But I don’t think that really matters.

What matters is that the audience grows attached to Wilson for a good part of the story. Wilson is not “personified,” where the ball takes on human characteristics. We don’t see the world from the volleyball’s point of view. It’s not anthropomorphic. But the presence of Wilson, an inanimate character, serves to deepen the moviegoer’s connection to the lead character’s desperate situation. Wilson represents “comfort” for Hanks who day by day strives to simply stay alive.

When I look at books that I enjoy, I notice that sometimes an author will feature one inanimate object that keeps re-appearing throughout the course of the novel. That object serves to symbolize something important to the protagonist; perhaps a struggle, a hope, an emotional conflict, a memory that scrambles their mind and will not be forgotten.

In the book, The Gold Finch by Donna Tartt, the painting is a focal point and crops up continuously as we learn about Theo, the little boy. That painting is the first painting Theo’s mother ever loved, and why he saves it from destruction. The painting serves to represent many things: genius, innocence, beauty, timelessness, and even resilience.

In a movie, the filmmaker can zero in on the inanimate object with the zoom or angle of the camera. But in a book, the author can only rely on words, either through narration or action involving the object.

There are novels where the inanimate object is in the actual title, and so it’s obvious to the reader that this place or thing will be highlighted in the story.

Examples of the inanimate objects actually appearing in a story’s title include:

The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins, where a giant diamond is the star of the story

The Purloined Letter by Edgar Allen Poe, where a letter is stolen from an unnamed royal woman

The Pearl by John Steinbeck, where the object brings bad luck to a family and ultimately leads to tragedy

In other books, the inanimate object does not appear in the book title. But the author has purposely placed it throughout the story with the intent to create a relationship between the human character and the object. This object keeps coming back into focus.

A short memoir story I recently crafted, titled Double Date features me as a young girl in the Bronx reluctantly spending a day out at the theater one-on-one with my mother. The inanimate object that comes into play is an old tattered wristwatch my mother keeps tucked in her purse, its frayed leather wristband unusable, its oval face scratched, a few of its tiny diamonds gone. But the watch still reads perfect time and is treasured by my mother. That tiny watch symbolizes resilience and hope to my troubled mom. Looking back now, maybe I should have given that small watch a bigger role which may have serve to deepen the emotions of my lead characters. Even as I write this, I’m learning.

Inanimate objects planted in a story by an artful writer can offer readers a literary “zing.” It’s another tool to consider as you craft a good tale.

Stay tuned for next week. Look for this BLOG every FRIDAY which will be posted at 9 a.m.

Next week’s WRITE-BYTES post will be titled REFLECTIVE NARRATOR IN MEMOIR WRITING.