Characterization Indirect vs Direct

Indirect or Direct? Smiling, the magician pulled a rabbit out of the hat and wowed the crowd.

Answer: INDIRECT We learn that the magician is good at what he does by how the crowd responds, so we are SHOWN that he is good.

The Evil Shadow King said, “I am a genius. I will conquer the world.” Indirect or Direct? The Evil Shadow King said, “I am a genius. I will conquer the world.”

ANSWER: Indirect We learn about the Shadow King’s character by what he says, so we are SHOWN.

Indirect or Direct? The Shadow King was an evil king capable of doing anything because he enjoyed cruelty.

ANSWER: DIRECT The sentence simply TELLS you what he is. We don’t even have to figure it out.

Indirect or Direct? The ninja reached the end of the alley where the other fighter should have been standing, but the other fighter was gone. She stood there scratching her head.

ANSWER: Indirect We are SHOWN that the ninja is confused because she is scratching her head, and the other ninja is not where he is supposed to be.

Indirect or Direct? Mr. Furstein entered ninja school to become a ninja, but he was clumsy and loud. He was quite possibly the worst ninja ever.

ANSWER:DIRECT The information is told to us. We do not see that Mr. Furstein is a bad ninja. We are just told that he is not good at it because she is clumsy and loud.

Indirect or Direct? Ninja Nelson finally told Mr. Furstein very gently, “Mr. Furstein, I understand you want to be a ninja, but you do not have what it takes.” Furstein threw a fit and tried to a throw a ninja star at Ninja Nelson’s head, but she caught it in her teeth.

1. ANSWER: INDIRECT 2.ANSWER: INDIRECT In the first one, we are SHOWN that Mrs. Nelson is gentle and kind because of how nice she is to Mr. Furstein. In the second one, we are SHOWN that Furstein is very immature and not a very good ninja because he throws a fit and tries to hurt Ninja Nelson.