How does dialogue contribute to character development?

Dialogue is a powerful tool in literature that offers insights into a character's personality, emotions, and relationships with others. It allows readers to hear the character's voice, understand their thoughts, and see how they interact with other characters. This spoken exchange can reveal a wealth of information about a character, including their motivations, backgrounds, and internal conflicts. Through dialogue, authors can showcase how characters think and feel, as well as how they change over time depending on their experiences and relationships.

By focusing on what characters say and how they say it—along with their reactions and interactions—dialogue enhances the reader’s understanding of who the characters are and how they develop within the story. This contribution to character development is much more than mere actions or descriptions; it encapsulates the dynamic nature of characters in a narrative.