How does dialogue reveal aspects of a character? Readers Workshop Mini-Lesson How does dialogue reveal aspects of a character?

Direct Characterization Sometimes, authors reveal aspects of characters in very obvious ways. We call this direct characterization. Direct Characterization: the process by which the personality of a fictitious character is revealed by the use of descriptive adjectives, phrases, or labels. This excerpt from The Adventures of Tom Sawyer shows direct characterization of Tom: “He was not the model boy of the village. He knew the model boy very well though- and loathed him.”

Indirect Characterization through Dialogue Most of the time, authors reveal aspects of characters in ways that are much less obvious. We call this Indirect Characterization. Indirect Characterization: the process by which the personality of a fictitious character is revealed through the character's speech, actions, appearance, etc. Today, we are going to focus on how aspects of a character can be revealed through dialogue. Dialogue: a conversation between two characters in a novel, drama, etc.

Example through Dialogue This excerpt from the same novel reveals aspects of Tom’s character through dialogue: Tom The new boy “I dare you to step over that, and I’ll lick you till you can’t stand up. Anybody that’ll take a dare will steal sheep.” The new boy stepped over promptly, and said: “Now you said you’d do it, let’s see you do it.” “Don’t crowd me now; you better look out.” “Well you SAID you’d do it- why don’t you do it?”

We use this method outside of reading, too We use this method outside of reading, too. Think about when you watch a movie; you discover aspects of a character through dialogue. What does the dialogue in this clip reveal about Huck’s character?