8 Different Ways of Looking at a Character Characterization 8 Different Ways of Looking at a Character

Physical Description Most common way of describing a character Identifies anything physical about the character Can include Height Skin Hair and eye color Short/tall How they walk or stand Physical Description

Analyzing a character’s name is looking more closely to it’s meaning (if there is one) and describing it Not all characters have a name with significance to the story Remember though… Authors don’t do things on accident! Many times they choose character’s names to represent something Name Analysis

This method of characterization is the reader’s description of the character’s attitude The character’s attitude is how the character appears to feel about what is happening to him or her in the story This is similar to how you may describe your attitude if you were in a similar situation Attitude/Appearance

When you first meet a real person, you form judgments about that person You might say “he’s nice,” or “She’s friendly.” Nice and Friendly are examples of character traits. The are words that we use to describe a person’s “character” or personality Character Traits

Dialogue The way in which a character talks Includes choice of words, tone and syntax Is the character shy? Sarcastic? Serious? Obnoxious? All these qualities (and more) can be conveyed through the characters’ dialogue Dialogue

The thoughts of a character can only be analyzed if we are inside the head of that character We can only include an analysis of a character’s thoughts if you are told what the character is thinking Thoughts

When analyzing the reactions of others, you are looking closely at how other characters in the story react to or treat the character that you are characterizing Reactions include verbal responses, and physical or emotional treatment Character reactions can tell if you the character you are analyzing is liked or disliked, popular, honest, trustworthy, etc Reactions of Others

A character can be analyzed by looking at an action or incident and how it affected them or how they reacted to it What action did the character take when confronted with a certain situation? Is there an incident in the character’s past that has shaped them and affected the way they look at their life? An important action or incident determines the way the character develops as the story goes on Action or Incident

Characterize one of the greasers Use each of the 8 methods of characterization to describe your character! Make your list first, then visually represent them! 1. For appearance, you will draw your character 2. For the other 7, you will make a list on a separate sheet of paper as a group 3. Find a quote from the first 4 chapters to describe your character and write it somewhere on your poster. *Be sure to use specific textual evidence to support your characterization* Your mission…

Setting affects the character’s development as well as the plot Can be Physical and Emotional Emotional The series of emotions that the character deals with in the story Physical Where the story is taking place Setting

Analyzing Character Traits We try to figure out what a character in a book is like by paying attention to the clues the author gives us. This is called making inferences. The writer can let us know what a character is like through direct and indirect characterization. Analyzing Character Traits

Character Development Dynamic Characters Static characters Characters who change throughout the store They develop They discover something about themselves and their world? They remain the same They do not develop Character Development