Thursday & Friday September 17th & 18th Materials Needed: Notebook PP Notes on Characterization Direct/in-direct, round/flat, stock Create a stock character Visualization Practice Identify Stock characters in film 3 column notes – Making Inferences

NO NOTES Characterization Good fiction tells us about ourselves--what it is like to be a woman who has lived her life in seclusion, or a solider about to die on the battlefield. We can EMPATHIZE with the characters--that is, to feel what they are feeling. We experience emotion through the story through the vehicle of the characters.

Character Two ways authors reveal a character: Direct Characterization TAKE NOTES Character Two ways authors reveal a character: Direct Characterization Indirect Characterization

Direct Characterization TAKE NOTES Direct Characterization The author DIRECTLY tells us the traits of that character. Physical description Behavior and actions

Characterization Example: (about Mrs. Bennet) NO NOTES Characterization Example: (about Mrs. Bennet) … She was a woman of mean understanding, little information, and uncertain temper. When she was discontented, she fancied herself nervous. The business of her life was to get her daughters married; its solace was visiting and news. What does Austen tell us DIRECTLY about Mrs. Bennet?

Indirect Characterization TAKE NOTES Indirect Characterization The author hints at what the character is like—through their clothing, what they carry with them. Anything and everything can be indirect—even something as small as their eyes. Allows the reader room for interpretation about a character.

Characterization Example: (about Mrs. Bennet) NO NOTES Characterization Example: (about Mrs. Bennet) Her mind was less difficult to develop. What does Austen tell us INDIRECTLY about Mrs. Bennet?

TAKE NOTES Characterization You can look at a character through BOTH direct and indirect…. (about Mr. Bennet): “You mistake me, my dear. I have a high respect for your nerves. They are my old friends. I have heard you mention them with consideration these twenty years at least.” How does this quote INDIRECTLY characterize Mr. Bennet?

TAKE NOTES Characterization Mr. Bennet was so odd a mixture of quick parts, sarcastic humor, reserve, and caprice, that the experience of three-and-twenty years had been insufficient to make his wife understand his character. How does this DIRECTLY characterize Mr. Bennet and support his earlier quote in regards to his character?

TAKE NOTES Characterization Example: What can you infer from the characterization of this married couple? Mrs. Bennet Mr. Bennet

Round vs. Flat Characters TAKE NOTES Round vs. Flat Characters Flat characters = characters that never change Round characters = that change; they are more complex.

TAKE NOTES Stock Characters Stock characters are characters that fit our NATURAL ideas about what a character should look/act/be like. Movies and literature are inundated with stock characters. Stock characters allow the reader to make predictions without the author having to provide too much background knowledge of the character.

Visualizing Stock Characters—what do you see? TAKE NOTES Visualizing Stock Characters—what do you see? 1. An English teacher. Describe as they usually appear in films and literature. OR 2. An old man. Describe as they usually appear in films and literature.

Stock Characters in Film NO NOTES Stock Characters in Film Watch the trailer of the 80’s pop culture classic The Breakfast Club Identify 5 stock characters in the film Watch the trailer a second time and record both physical descriptions and physical actions for each character Make inferences on characterization based on what you saw and what you know about people

Type of Stock Character Physical Descriptions/Actions TAKE NOTES 3 Column Notes Type of Stock Character Physical Descriptions/Actions Inferences 1. Rebel/Trouble-maker 2. 3. 4. 5. Disheveled clothes – torn or ripped; smoker Goes against authority; maybe a troubled home life