Characterisation Questions Journal ENTRY

Questions to ask when analysing characters (ANSWER ABOUT YOUR NOVEL) Questions for studying characters 1. Does a main character in your text undergo a change in attitudes or behaviour? How and why? 2. How does the environment or circumstances (e.g. a war, moving to another place, the death of a parent) impact on a character? 3. Reflectonthecharacter’svaluesandpointofview.Howdoestheauthorpresent a key theme through a character? .

WHY DO WE NEED TO KNOW THEM? Characters generate the action and make the story unfold. Well-constructed characters make us care about their circumstances – our interest is sustained because we want to find out what happens to them! An understanding of the characters is crucial to an understanding of the themes and values of the text overall. What do you need to know about them? Personal details – their full name (spelt correctly), their age and where they live. Character and personality – their strengths and weaknesses. Background – their families; their social and cultural context. Motivations – why do they act in certain ways and make the choices they do? Relationships – with other characters and with their surroundings. Changes – in their character, relationships, circumstances or point of view.

IMPORTaNT Quote from the text to support what you say. You can paraphrase Summarise Direct quotes

WORD BANKS: Find other words Common word strong weak good bad kind nasty quiet lazy loyal

CREAtE WORD BANKS Common word happy sad nice smart brave fearful practical lazy loyal

WORD BANK FOR ACTIONS like dislike Double-cross start oppose please work

CONSIDER POINT OF VIEW A narrative text is usually narrated (told) in either the first (‘I’) or the third (‘he/she’) person. A first-person narrator is a character in the text – usually the central character or protagonist. A third-person narrator is ‘outside’ the action, but they are also, in a sense, a ‘character’ created by the author for the purpose of telling the story. Don’t assume that the ideas and attitudes expressed by the narrator are identical to those of the author. The narrator has a very strong impact on how the reader learns about, and responds to, events and characters. A first-person narrator gives us a particular view of the world of the text. Sometimes the narrator’s account of the action tells us as much about the narrator as about the other characters.