Character Arcs

Character Arcs are the transformation or inner journey of a character over the course of a story. There are 3 types of character arcs.

Positive Character Arc
In the positive arc, the character will start out with varying levels of personal unfulfillment and denial. Over the course of the story, he will be forced to challenge his beliefs about himself and the world, until finally he conquers his inner demons (and, as a result, probably his outer antagonists as well) and ends his arc having changed in a positive way. This is about "The Lie the Character Believes".

Notable characters with positive character arcs

 * Aang (Avatar:The Last Airbender)
 * Zuko (Avatar:The Last Airbender)
 * Woody (Toy Story)

Flat Character Arc
Many popular stories feature characters who are already essentially complete unto themselves. They’re already heroes and don’t require any noticeable personal growth to gain the inner strength to defeat the external antagonists. These characters experience little to no change over the course of the story, making their arcs static or “flat”. Sometimes these characters are the catalysts for change in the story world around them, so that we find more prominent growth arcs in the minor characters. This is about "The Truth the Character Believes".

Notable characters with flat character arcs

 * Son Goku
 * Forrest Gump (Forrest Gump)
 * Sora (Kingdom Hearts)
 * Sonic the Hedgehog
 * Super Mario

Negative Character Arc
Negative character arcs offer, arguably, more variations that either of the other arcs. However, at their most basic level, the Negative Arc is just a Change Arc flipped on its head. Instead of a character who grows out of his faults into a better person, the Negative Arc presents a character who ends up in a worse state than that in which he began the story.

Notable characters with negative character arcs

 * Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader (Stars Wars Prequel Trilogy)
 * Light Yagami (Death Note)
 * Sasuke Uchiha (Naruto)

Why These Tropes Rock

 * 1) They demonstrate the potential of character development.