Is it possible for a story character to break the fourth wall?

Sorry for the confusing waffle. I was a bit tired when I wrote that I think. Thanks for clearing the matter up, Islander.

Something I'd like to say on the matter of people acting like people is that I frequently break the fourth wall in real life. "Oh, that was such a cliché moment." "Hey, this ought to be the part where I meet the charming guy who sets my life on a new exciting path, right?" "Don't touch that - it's probably cursed and you'll be the first to go because you're just a side character in this group"

(I, of course, am the main character )

So yeah. When my characters talk and think like I do, it's breaking the fourth wall and apparently bad. But I do it all the time myself. Therefore, fiction sucks sometimes, and just write what feels good.

 

For anyone who doesn't see the possibilties of breaking the fourth wall I would recommend watching the film 'Funny Games' (originally German, but USA remake starring Tim Roth just as good (in my opinion)).

Its a horror, and this technique works really well.

 

of course it's possible, since it's been done... the question you need to answer is, 'do i have a good enough reason for doing it?'

if you don't, then don't do it!...

the other question needing an answer is, 'can i do it well enough to get away with it?'

the fact is, the vast majority of writers can't...

 

I assume the term 'possible' meant 'possible to do it well and/or have it accepted as a valid literary technique' since we all know it's possible. Were it not possible, there wouldn't be a term for it, right?

 

My story not in the first-person (or in a journal format)-Its more 3rd person and the person talking (breaking the fourth wall) isn't a main character-since one is in a "Sleeping Death" state, and the other person is still hiding out in a cottage. Its a bit hard not to mention that the characters are in a fairytale.

Maybe I should sum up the story so far. Anne Brown is a 23 year old woman from Ontario. She ends up in this land called Ellabur where she's been prophised about 23 years earlier. She meets a male called Aramis Smith and after the 2 fall in love Anne eats a poisoned orange. After Anne's two Ladies-in-waiting discover, Anne, One of them asked "What happened?" and the other Lady-in-Waiting answered and kind of had to break the 4th wall.

 

i don't see why you think 'she' had to... since the character would only be answering another character's question and telling about what happened to other characters in the story, how can it make any sense [or be necessary] to speak directly to the readers, instead?

 

She wasn't actually speaking to the readers. "Breaking the 4th wall" means two things speaking to the readers. OR are aware that they're in story. My breaking the fourth wall is the latter "Breaking the fourth wall is when a character acknowledges their fictionality, "

 

I still don't see that as breaking the fourth wall. It just seems like one character is asking another what happened. It be no difference then me stumbling onto a car crash and asking a cop what happened. In this case its one person relating the events to another.

When a character asks another character this, its just the same. One character relating the events to another. It doesn't acknowledge that they are fictional nor does it address the audience.

 

I believe it can be done if it's done right. I think a novel can have a subtle acknowledgement of the characters being fictional, even if talking to the audience probably would come off as gimmicky.

 

I'd like to subvert that cliché by having the villain explain his elaborate plans, and the protagonist escape from his contrived death trap. Then, when the protagonist tries to foil the villain, it turns out everything the villain said was a lie

Whomever finds this forum post, feel free to use the idea in your own work.

 

Of course you can. And if it is done well, it will work. If not, not!

To the person saying you can't use second person, yes you can. Try not to sound objective when you're letting your opinion cloud your judgement.

 

Not exactly. Or at least not traditionally.

Breaking the fourth wall means including the audience into the story and comes from theater and addressing the audience. It often logically leads to the fact the characters are then aware they're just in a play, of course.

But meta-fiction is where the characters are aware they're in a story. They may not always be aware there's a reader, though, and may never address the audience/reader directly even if they do suspect they're in a story.

 

Hah, great idea. And if the villain is Bugs Bunny, he turns to the camera and says 'what a buffoon.'

 

Best fourth wall breaker. Great comic that is full of awesome humor. He doesn't talk to the audience often, but he does do it enough.

My character breaks the fourth wall at the beginning of the first book and the very last sentence in the last book.

 

Personally, I think this could work if done well. It would work best in a humourous/satirical piece, but could work in other genres. I think one thing that might help is breaking down the 4th wall repeatedly. If you only do it once, the story will seem incongruous and the reader might feel disgruntled. But if you do it from the start, it can possibly work. It would work better if it was from first person point of view, and the protagonist was the one talking to the audience without others hearing. Of course, it doesn't have to be like this - it can work without. It might also work if instead of having the character break the fourth wall, create a writing persona (like in Lemony Snicket) that breaks down the fourth wall at the start, and then repeatedly breaks down the fourth wall to explain things or comment on things.

I personally think this can work, but only if you are careful about it. However, I think it is a good idea, and is a good way to add originality to the story, as well as your own personal flair.

 

I've read books where this works just fine. You can certainly do it, and as others have noticed it simply comes down to how well you are able to pull it off. It has been done well before, as have things like second person, intrusive narrators, and other things that people on writer's sites like to say you can't do.