Characterization: Marsh9thEnglish.wordpress.com How do authors describe and develop a character? What is direct characterization? Indirect? How can characterization bring insight to a work of literature?

Objectives In this lesson we will answer: How are characters developed by Orwell? What is the difference between direct and indirect characterization? How does a character’s speech reveal their traits? (dialogue, monologue, soliloquy) What is a first-person narrator? How can we incorporate this knowledge into our writing?

Creating characters—telling what personalities are like—is the whole point of writing stories. [End of Section] Creating Characters

Writers build characters by revealing speech appearanceprivate thoughts others’ reactions actions Character Development

Which methods of character development are being used? What do you think of the man based on this excerpt? Character Development Quick Check “Keep still, you little devil, or I’ll cut your throat!” A fearful man, all in coarse grey, with a great iron on his leg. A man with no hat, and with broken shoes, and with an old rag tied round his head. A man who had been soaked in water, and smothered in mud, and lamed by stones, and cut by flints... ; who limped, and shivered, and glared and growled; and whose teeth chattered in his head as he seized me by the chin. from Great Expectations by Charles Dickens [End of Section]

Speech Actions Description Character Development Quick Check Which methods of character development are being used? “Keep still, you little devil, or I’ll cut your throat!” A fearful man, all in coarse grey, with a great iron on his leg. A man with no hat, and with broken shoes, and with an old rag tied round his head. A man who had been soaked in water, and smothered in mud, and lamed by stones, and cut by flints... ; who limped, and shivered, and glared and growled; and whose teeth chattered in his head as he seized me by the chin. from Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

He’s dangerous and desperate. He seems to be an escaped prisoner on the run. What do you think of the man based on this excerpt? Character Development Quick Check “Keep still, you little devil, or I’ll cut your throat!” A fearful man, all in coarse grey, with a great iron on his leg. A man with no hat, and with broken shoes, and with an old rag tied round his head. A man who had been soaked in water, and smothered in mud, and lamed by stones, and cut by flints... ; who limped, and shivered, and glared and growled; and whose teeth chattered in his head as he seized me by the chin. from Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

First-person narrators reveal their personal traits as they tell us what they think and feel Be aware that some first-person narrators mislead or lie to the audience. tell their own stories (using pronouns like I, me, and we) SoliloquyDramatic Monologue Speech

what characters say and don’t say Dialogue can reveal a lot about characters and their relationships with each other. Pay attention to how characters respond to each other [End of Section] Speech

Pay attention to language the writer uses to describe the characters’ looks, clothes, and demeanor. Does the description give you a positive or negative impression of the character? [End of Section] Appearance Which words contribute to this impression? The cold within him froze his old features, nipped his pointed nose, shriveled his cheek, stiffened his gait; made his eyes red, his thin lips blue.... from A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

Writers can take us into the characters’ minds to reveal their thoughts and feelings. As you read, note whether the characters’ thoughts and feelings match their speech and actions. [End of Section] Private Thoughts

Watch how other characters in the story react to the character. Note [End of Section] how the others feel about the character what the others say about the character How Other Characters Feel

What characters do and how they treat each other often reveal the most about them. Observe characters’ actions to determine what their personality is like what motivates them how they deal with conflict [End of Section] Actions

Direct Characterization—Writers tell us directly what characters are like or what their motives are. Oh, but he was a tightfisted hand at the grindstone, Scrooge! a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous old sinner! from A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens Indirect Characterization—Writers show us characters (through speech, appearance, private thoughts, other characters’ reactions, and actions) but allow us to decide what characters are like. Direct and Indirect Characterization

Quick Check My sister, Mrs. Joe, with black hair and eyes, had such a prevailing redness of skin that I sometimes used to wonder whether it was possible she washed herself with a nutmeg-grater instead of soap. She was tall and bony, and almost always wore a coarse apron, fastened over her figure behind with two loops, and having a square impregnable bib in front, that was stuck full of pins and needles. from Great Expectations by Charles Dickens Is this an example of direct or indirect characterization? What kind of person do you think this character is? Direct and Indirect Characterization [End of Section]

Indirect. The writer is describing the character’s appearance. Direct and Indirect Characterization Quick Check Is this an example of direct or indirect characterization? My sister, Mrs. Joe, with black hair and eyes, had such a prevailing redness of skin that I sometimes used to wonder whether it was possible she washed herself with a nutmeg-grater instead of soap. She was tall and bony, and almost always wore a coarse apron, fastened over her figure behind with two loops, and having a square impregnable bib in front, that was stuck full of pins and needles. from Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

I think she’s strict and unfriendly. What kind of person do you think this character is? Direct and Indirect Characterization Quick Check My sister, Mrs. Joe, with black hair and eyes, had such a prevailing redness of skin that I sometimes used to wonder whether it was possible she washed herself with a nutmeg-grater instead of soap. She was tall and bony, and almost always wore a coarse apron, fastened over her figure behind with two loops, and having a square impregnable bib in front, that was stuck full of pins and needles. from Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

Find an example of direct and indirect characterization of the animals in Animal Farm. Character Direct Indirect Practice – 20 points Old MajorPrize middle-white boar (12 years old) Respected by animals Boxer“Not of first rate intelligence”Voluntarily overworks himself CloverFemale horse, 4 foalsMaternal: takes care of the motherless ducklings NapeoleonBerkshire boarTells animals don’t worry about “missing milk” MosesMr. Jones’ “special pet”Talks about “Sugar-Candy Mountain” SnowballPigs are cleverest animalsKnows how to read and write Mr. JonesDrunked, disheartened farmerWhipping of cows for eating [End of Section]