Characterization English 8, Semester 1

Characterization How a writer reveals a character’s traits the character’s appearance the character’s thoughts, speech, and actions what others say about the characters direct statements made by the narrator

Major Characters Characters that play a large role:

Minor Characters Characters that play a small role:

Dynamic Characters Characters that undergo internal changes as the plot unfolds Changes can be in thoughts, values, morals, motivations, etc.

Static Characters Characters that remain the same throughout the story Static characters can change physically, but remain static characters if there are no internal changes (in thoughts, morals, values, motivations, etc.)

Examples of Static/Dynamic Characters

Stereotypes A character who represents a recognizable group, such as “cat lady” or “popular girl” These characters are overly simplified to exaggerate a trait

Protagonist The main character in a story

Antagonist The opposing force the protagonist struggles with