Character analysis in literature and narrative

Captain Mertin in "Being John Malkovich"

In the film, "Being John Malkovich," the characters of Craig and Lotte Schwartz have been introduced to the extraordinary phenomenon that made it possible for them to be inside the mind of actor John Malkovich. With the help of a secret entryway located in the peculiarly constructed Mertin-Flemmer Building, Craig (and Lotte) tried escaping their boring and frustrating lives by enjoying the interesting life of John Malkovich.

Though the central focus of the file remained on the characters Craig, Lotte, and John Malkovich, another interesting character was Captain Mertin, the individual where the Martin-Flemmer building was named after. What made the building peculiar was the inclusion of a building between the seventh and eighth floors, a building made especially for people of "miniature proportions" -- that is, people who were born with abnormally small heights. The wisdom that Captain Mertin shared when he stated, "And I shall build a floor in my building...which will be scaled down, so from now on there shall be at least one place on God's green Earth that you and your accursed kind can live in peace..." His character was similar and parallel to the theme of the film, wherein, through a portal, the desperate lives of Craig and Lotte were made interesting by assuming the character (and mind) of John Malkovich. Captain Mertin acts as the 'miniature' version of this primary theme in the film: in the same way that the portal became a place where Craig and Lotte lived their desperate lives, Captain Mertin's "small floor" in the Mertin-Flemmer building allowed vertically-challenged individuals to fit in a place where everything was custom-built for their needs. In effect, Captain Mertin's role was to voice out these implied insights that viewers were able to generate from "Being John Malkovich."