Characters may also be animals or non-animate objects that the author anthromorphizes. If the characters are to be realistic and lifelike, the author must describe their actions, thoughts, words, and what others think of them. Each author creates each character to serve as a symbol of some belief, world view, or group. As such, it is important to question what the author is trying to say by their portrayal of each character. For instance, when an author introduces a Step-mother we know, from the narratives we have heard all our lives, that she is going to be evil.
Comic books provide the most obvious examples in their portrayals of heroes and villains.
We instantly recognize them because the heroes are always attractive and brilliantly colored in primary colors while the villains are ugly, deformed, and drawn in dark colors. We also instantly know that the Hero stands for good and the status quo while the villain stands for evil and chaos. Setting Setting is also a means that the author uses to convey meaning. This one is pretty obvious. Just watch any episode of Scooby Doo.