 Major (also called Protagonist )  Minor ( supporting characters)  Round (complex)  Flat (one dimensional)

› Most important to the story › They change in some way during the story › Who is a major character in Letters from Rifka?

 Not very important to the story but they help move the story along.  Stay the same from the beginning to the end.  These characters support the major characters

 Based on what we have read so far, who might a minor character be in Letters from Rifka?

 Parts of a character’s personality › brave, loyal, smart, kind, honest  NOT EMOTIONS

 The way a character › Speaks › Thinks › Acts  Qualities that cause characters to act the way they normally do

 A character is a person or animal who takes part in the action of a story. Character traits are qualities that a character has. You can identify character traits by noticing what a character says and does.  Turn to page 8 in your activity booklet and fill in the definition. Then list two character traits for Rifka and Mama.

(motive – what causes a person to behave in a certain way)  Strong feeling › Strong need  Strong want  Strong desire  These are strong emotions

 Round characters › Are characters with lots of traits › Are complex characters  Flat characters › Are limited characters whose personalities aren’t fully developed

 Static same › Stays the same throughout the story › Doesn’t grow and learn › Usually a minor character  Dynamic › Changes throughout the story › Learns and grows through experiences within the story › Usually a major character

 Main character in a story or novel

 The enemy or opponent of the protagonist  Name an antagonist in Letters from Rifka

1. Showing through dialogue 2. Telling through another character’s description 3. Showing through the character’s actions direct description 4. Telling through direct description 5. The character’s inner thoughts and feelings 6. Physical appearance/ how they look and dress

 Are based on who the character is  Are based on how the character thinks

 What a character says aloud  How he or she says it Inner Dialogue › A character’s thoughts

 By his actions think say › What other characters think and say about a character  By his motives  By his personality traits  By the author’s direct comments  By his beliefs