Creating Characters

Direct Characterization—Writers tell us directly what characters are like or what their motives are.

Indirect Characterization—Writers show us characters but allow us to decide what characters are like.

Direct and Indirect Characterization

Quick Check

Oh, but he was a mean old man at the grindstone! A squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, greedy old sinner!

- A Christmas Carol

Is this an example of direct or indirect characterization?

What kind of person do you

think this character is?

Direct and Indirect Characterization

Direct

Quick Check

Lord Asriel was a tall man with powerful shoulders, a fierce dark face, and eyes that seemed to flash and glitter with savage laughter.

- The Golden Compass

Is this an example of direct or indirect characterization?

What kind of person do you

think this character is?

Direct and Indirect Characterization

Indirect

Indirect characterization is revealed five different ways

• Speech

• Appearance

• Private Thoughts

• Reactions of others

• Actions

(a character’s own words)

(how a character looks)

(what a character thinks)

(how other characters feel about a character)

(what a character does)

“Keep still, you little devil, or I’ll cut your throat!”

A fearful man, all in coarse grey, with a great iron on his leg. A man with no hat, and with broken shoes, and with an old rag tied round his head. A man who had been soaked in water, and smothered in mud, and lamed by stones, and cut by flints . . . ; who limped, and shivered, and glared and growled; and whose teeth chattered in his head as he seized me by the chin.

- Great Expectations

Which methods of indirect

characterization are being used?

Direct and Indirect Characterization

Speech

Actions

Appearance

Indirect Characterization

“Keep still, you little devil, or I’ll cut your throat!”

A fearful man, all in coarse grey, with a great iron on his leg. A man with no hat, and with broken shoes, and with an old rag tied round his head. A man who had been soaked in water, and smothered in mud, and lamed by stones, and cut by flints . . . ; who limped, and shivered, and glared and growled; and whose teeth chattered in his head as he seized me by the chin.

-

What kind of person do you

think this character is?

Indirect characterization

Her eyes were Frenchmen blue, staring out of a soft, round face. She appeared completely unafraid, and there was a look to her stare that made the Baron feel uneasy for no reason he could explain.

- Dune

Which methods of indirect

characterization are being used?

Indirect characterization

Her eyes were Frenchmen blue, staring out of a soft, round face. She appeared completely unafraid and there was a look to her stare that made the Baron feel uneasy for no reason he could explain.

- Dune

Appearance Reactions of Others

Her eyes were Frenchmen blue, staring out of a

unafraid, and there was a look to her stare that

made the Baron feel uneasy for no reason he

could explain.

soft, round face. She appeared completely

Which method is being used?

She was wearing grubby tennis shoes and a shapeless gray sweater over a summery calico dress.

AppearanceWhat kind of

person do you think this

character is?

Which method is being used?

“I know everyone hates me,” Nancy sobbed. “It’s because I’m not as pretty as the other girls.”

SpeechWhat kind of

person do you think this

character is?

Which method is being used?(for Aunt Sylvia)

When Aunt Sylvia entered the room, my mother narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips in disapproval.

Reactions of Others

What kind of person do you

think this character is?

Which method is being used?

It wasn’t long before Alison began to wonder how she could get that doll away from her sister and all to herself.

Private Thoughts

What kind of person do you

think this character is?

The action of the story revolves around the protagonist and the conflict he or she faces.

Main Characters

Protagonist—the main character of a story.

Antagonist—the character or force the protagonist struggles against and must overcome.

Protagonist

Antagonist

Subordinate characters add depth and complication to the plot.

Subordinate Characters

Family

Friends

Flat characters

• have only one or two character traits that can be described in a few words

Flat Characters versus Round Characters

• have no depth, like a piece of cardboard

Round characters• have many different

character traits that sometimes contradict each other

Flat Characters versus Round Characters

• are much like real people, with several sides to their personality

Static characters

• do not change or grow

Dynamic Characters versus Static Characters

• are the same at the end of a story as they were in the beginning

Subordinate characters are often static characters.

Dynamic characters• change or grow as a result of the story’s

actions• learn something about themselves, other

people, or the world as they struggle to resolve their conflicts

The changes that a dynamic character undergoes contribute to the meaning of the story.

Dynamic Characters versus Static Characters

Motivation is what drives a character’s actions. It…

Motivation

• explains behaviors

• is often based on character’s fears, conflicts, needs

Motivation can be inferred by observing characters’ behavior, speech, actions.

• reveals personality

Homework-Period One

Please complete the character worksheet with your assigned number:

1. Gwyneth, Scott, Christine and Andrew 2. Bobbi, Jack, Peyton and Alexus3. Evan, Kiran, John and Cheyenne4. Ben, Nicole, Brandon and Fernando5. Frank, Mccain, Alyssa, Christopher6. Luke, William, Joy and Audrey

Homework-Period Three

Please complete the character worksheet with your assigned number:

1. Hamza, Alexandra, Kane and Jordan2. Lucy, Jason, Auston and Kyle3. Michelle, Timoteo, Lauren, and Richard4. Jesse, Ian, Kyle W., and Taylor5. Cade, Sasha, Madison, Emily*6. Tyler, Nicholas, Joey and Macy