Picture this: A woman rushes out of her house and screams, “A giant blob is out to eat me! Somebody please help me!” She’s hysterical and scared out of her wits as she repeats her statement while pointing to her house. Law enforcers come to inspect and they find a washing machine overflowing with soap suds. The woman confirms that this is the monster blob that wants to eat her.

In this case, the character’s intelligence or sanity is put under scrutiny and she will be doubted rather than believed. Instead of winning sympathy, she will be dismissed as a nutcase and will be sent straight to an asylum. In fiction, a character’s response to given stimuli should be proportional to the gravity of the event or situation.

Example: A historical event is about to take place as the president of a powerful communist Asian country is going to visit the president of the United States for the first time. The agenda is to discuss nuclear disarmament and a solution to the pandemic crisis. At the Oval Office, the leader is met by POTUS and the First Lady in the presence of flash-popping cameras. The US president’s dog, a cute, friendly pocket beagle wags his tail and jumps at the Asian president cheerfully. The Asian leader rushes out of the office and runs into the garden screaming, “It’s going to kill me!”

The leader’s hysteria is irrational and does not fit a proper reaction to the situation he faced. His behavior is not befitting his stature as a powerful leader. Later on, he will become the headlines of major dailies and news broadcasts and will become a laughing stock to the world. Other leaders will question his competence and the US president might have second doubts about forging a peace agreement with him.

A character’s action should be commensurate to the situation or event. This same principle must apply to characters who, on the other hand, are giving minimal reaction to a catastrophic event. Characters who under respond appear flat and strange.

Example: A man from New York is flying to Oregon to meet the parents of his fiancée. During the flight, the airplane experiences some engine trouble, and the pilot announces that they are going to crash. As the flight crew tries to calm down the panicking passengers, the man tries to call his fiancée about the flight situation. Unfortunately, he forgot to recharge his smartphone and he couldn’t reach his fiancée. Then the inevitable happens. His burned remains were found along with other bodies in a cornfield where the plane crashed. Later, as his fiancée was informed about the tragedy, she shrugs and says, “I told him not to travel by plane. He didn’t even bother to call. I guess the wedding is off.”

The under response the woman gives makes her come out as flat and unfeeling. The intensity of the drama is lost from her insensitivity. The scene becomes a big question mark to readers. Drama or tragedy requires an intense response if the writer aims to rouse his audience to empathize with characters.

Being jumped on by a harmless dog requires a casual response. Finding a loved one among the victims of a plane crash demands a dramatic reaction. A character’s appropriate response to given stimuli determines credibility and paints reality that triggers the reader’s empathic reaction.