Alvino Castillon
TNPer
National Personification: What and How it Works
Personification... it's an intriguing concept. In the dictionary, it's defined as "the representation of a thing or abstraction in the form of a person, as in art." It is a concept used by many artists, many writers, and many poets. It gives human traits to inanimate objects and concepts. In writing, it is a concept that allows the writer to apply verbs and phrases to things that would not usually have those verbs or phrases attached to them. Personification is often applied to the written word and is used many times in poetry as a plot device. For example:
James Stephens:
In this case, the wind is personified. In actuality, wind can not kick leaves or thump branches with its hands, because it has neither feet nor hands. However, the wind can blow around and scattered leaves and knock branches around. Despite the wind being an inanimate object, it is still given human traits in Stephens' writing. In this way, Stephens has applied the concept of personification and has successfully painted us a picture of the wind being a person, rather than a concept. There is no person in real life representing the wind, but the written words of this world can still personify the wind, making it more human.
Now that the concept of personification has been explained... let's move on to the focus of this work.
Explaining a National Personification: What is the Concept?
National personification is exactly what the name implies- the use of personification to represent an entire nation as a person or character. National personification takes into account the nation as a whole. Not only is the government accounted for, but the culture, religion, demographics, and even geography of the nation is taken into account. The entire nation is represented as a person (often with a much longer lifespan than the regular human) and it is a person that can be used in writing and role plays. In most Role Plays, the personification can be seen by other people and often acts as a person itself. It is a concept that has actually been around for long time, but until recently was not given a term of its own. In fact, national personification was used by political cartoonists back in the Age of Imperialism (late 1800s- early 1900s). Here is a perfect example of a national personification in history:
Notice in this photo how the person looks. We can easily assume that this is a personification of the United States of America based on the clothes he is wearing (stars and stripes). He is holding a large stick, which is a reference to Theodore Roosevelt's Big Stick ideology. Notice also that the stick is labelled the "Monroe Doctrine" which was a doctrine used by Roosevelt to justify his actions in the Americas during the Age of Imperialism. All of this could be easily gathered from simple thought... but there is one more thing of importance that is often looked over. Notice the personification's body in general. He seems taller than most people would be, almost towering over the world. This is not only a reference of the extent of the power of the United States, but a reference to the amount of territory the United States held. In the modern day, it is one of the largest nations in the world in terms of landmass. As a result, it is considerably tall and would be taller in comparison to a smaller state like Peru or the United Kingdom.
With the concept of national personifications now explained, the question to ask is how to make one... a process that varies depending on each person.
Customizing the Personification: How to Create a Personification for the Nation
A national personification is an easy concept to use for some. It is something that comes naturally to them and can be molded in mere minutes. For others, it is slightly more difficult. It takes more time to form the idea in their mind of the personification that fits their nation and even longer to figure out the details of the personification. This interesting phenomenon that occurs is due to experience in regards to Role Playing. In Nation States, the two major types of Role Playing are "Character Role Plays" (where a person Role Plays as one or two characters only) and "National Role Plays" (in which the person Role Plays the entire history and workings of a nation). National personification takes elements from both and mixes them together. As a result, certain people who are very good with one Role Playing genre and not as good with another can have a difficult time with creating a national personification.
To begin the process of creating a physical layout of the personification for a nation, one should ask themselves a few questions:
- How large is the nation? The area of the nation will determine the size of the person. Larger nations (such as Russia) will generally be taller while smaller nations (such as Liechtenstein) will be shorter in height.
- What is the demographics of the population? The people themselves play a very important role. If the majority of people are overweight, the personification will be overweight. If a majority of people have brown hair, the personification will most likely have brown hair. However, some people disregard population for certain attributes. For example, the majority of people could have brown eyes and the personification may have red eyes instead.
- What do I want my personification to look like? This is the ultimate question to ask. If you want to have your character have red eyes instead of the color of the majority of the populace, then it is your right to choose to do so.
With the physical traits of the personification now handled, now it is time for the personality itself. There are many questions to ask and consider, but to start with, consider these questions:
- How does the government work? This is the most important question to ask. If the government is democratic in nature, the personification will most like favor democratic ideals. Likewise, if an authoritarian government rules the nation with an iron fist, the personification will be more likely to support authoritarian traditions. However, this is not always the case. Sometimes, personifications hate their governments and actively rebel against them. This concept will be explained in the next section in greater detail.
- How popular is the government with the people? This has a major effect on the health of the personification. If the people support the government and how it works, the personification will be healthy and stronger. However, if the government is weak or in danger of toppling, the personification will be very sick many times.
- What are foreign affairs like? This affects how the personification does well with other people and personifications. For example, a government that embraces foreign relations and has many allies will be the basis for a personification with many friends and a sociable attitude. On the flip side, a government that is very isolated and engages in very little foreign relations will make for a more paranoid and fearful personification who will prefer to be alone rather in the company of others.
- What is the populace like? This usually covers a large part of the personality of the personification. If a populace does well in or is renowned for a certain field of study, the personification will be better in that field of study. If a large part of the populace is great at writing, so will the personification.
With all of these questions in mind, a national personification can be formed fairly easily. Due to the personification being formed by both the fantasies of one's imagination and the populace of one's nation, it is also why both Character Role Playing and National Role Playing are often said to intertwine in Personification Role Playing.
Now that the national personification is formed, it is time for the final section of focus... how to engage in the Role Playing itself.
The Role Playing: What to Consider in a Personification Role Play
Role Playing a personification is both a character role play and a national role play. As things happen around the personification in their native land, the personification reacts to national and international events that affect the nation. The experience of a personification is very different depending on the nation they are located in. Some personifications play no role in the political process or the nation as a whole and are often forgotten by the majority of the populace and nearly the entire government. Other times, the personification is the one who is in charge of the entire nation, often in the form of a dictator or monarch. Even still, some personifications are in between and hold some power in the government, but shares some of it with the rest of the government.
Sometimes, dramatic events arrive to the nation and changes its course entirely. In those instances, the personification is also very much affected. For example, when a civil war rises, a second personification will form and rise to oppose the first one. The two personifications will fight until a peace settlement is reached, or one side is victorious over the other. In the case of the latter... the personification of the losing side is often killed in response. Why exactly does this happen? Couldn't the two live side by side as the same nation? Not always actually. The life force of a personification is the people itself. As stated earlier, when the people believe in the government and the nation, the personification is healthy and can thrive. However, if that government system was to collapse, then the people no longer believe in it; therefore (in many cases), the personification loses the will to live.
Now, the question to now ask is "What about colonies? What happens then when you have nations who are beaten or are major territories?" In those cases, there can/usually is a personification to represent those colonies and major territories. If a nation conquers another nation and makes it a colonial possession, the personification of the defeated nation will be the personification of the colonial government. In other cases, the personification may have major sections of the nation that are defined by different geopolitical boundaries. These sections can also have personifications, though they usually hold little to no power in terms of the government.
The final concept to consider is relationships between personifications. Many personification Role Players use the following scale for how international relations translate into personified relationships:
This chart is not always followed however. In some instances, the two personifications could be secretly lovers, yet the governments could despise each other greatly. Always keep in mind that relations between one government and another are merely guiding points. Personifications can form their own feelings on different personifications, even if it is the exact opposite of the government policy. This creates a unique position in which the personification likes another personification, but the government despises that same personification (think Romeo and Juliet).Government to Personification Relationship Scale:
Conclusion: Into the Future
National Personification Role Play is strikingly different from other types of Nation States Role Playing. It mixes the two major types of Role Playing together and creates a unique genre that somewhat defies some of the norms that come with Role Playing. Although it has yet to achieve the large scale importance other genres of Role Playing has, it is a growing Role Playing form in Nation States and has a large amount of potential.I leave with my last suggestion when it comes to Personification Role Playing... the Seven Commandments of Personifications.
I wish you and your personification the best of luck in your endeavors.
-Alvino Castillon, Personification of the Almanianian Union