Movement in Characterization

Characterization also involves movement. In the characterization, the author first would describe a character in a particular way and then as the narrative moves forward the character would take shape and move from one to another. At one of the narrative, the character would be in a different way but later the same character would take shape to be something else. 

More than anywhere in the Gospels, we find this beautifully shown in the book of John. 

In John 3, Nathaniel sees Jesus as the Rabbi from God but by the end of the narrative Jesus is characterized as the Son of God of whom people should believe to have eternal life. There is a movement from Rabbi to the Son of God in the characterization of Jesus in John 3. The narrative moves the characterization of Jesus from Rabbi to the Son of God. For this movement, the perspective of Nathaniel that Jesus is a rabbi is needed. From this characterization the narrator moves the characterization to showing that Jesus is the Son of God. In this movement, Nathaniel's portrayal is not purely negated but Nathaniel's identification that Jesus is the Rabbi is taken as the launching pad in the narrative for John to show Jesus as the Son of God. 

Likewise, in John 4, the Samaritan Woman sees in the beginning as a Jew but later the narrator shows Jesus as the Messiah by the end of the narrative. Therefore, there is movement in characterization.