1. Characterization  Who are the most famous characters in books/movies?  What makes them so memorable?

2. Character- “the foundation of good fiction is character-creating and nothing else”  Plot and character are inseparable since an author uses character to advance the action of the story and they use plot to show the development of the character.  Character is the essence of the story and even the most simple escapist fiction makes some use of character development

3.  To be truly convincing a character must be consistent and clearly motivated and plausible.  Consistent - can’t behave one way on one occasion and then change in another (Darth Vader is not good one scene and then nice the next)  Motivated - so the reader can understand why the character acts like the do (why murder someone? Need a motive)  Plausible - character should be believable. They can’t be all good or all bad and even if you can’t connect to this character, you can at least be convinced the character can exist.

4. Characterization  A character in a story is someone or something whose actions, choices, thoughts, ideas, words and influence are important in developing the plot. Characters are often people but they can be non-living things. A force, such as good or evil, can operate as a character in a story.

5. Terms  Protagonist- main character(s)  Antagonist- opposes the protagonist  Characterization is the name for the techniques a writer uses to reveal the personality of characters to the reader.  Characterization is achieved in a number of ways:

6.  Flat character- one or two traits only  Round character- complex and many sided  Static - same person at the end of the story as the beginning- no development  Dynamic - undergoes a permanent change in condition or a minor change in opinion

7. Types of characters : to show personalities in a story. To encourage the reader to either love or hate or not care about the character Flat Character  -two dimensional in that they are uncomplicated and do not change in story.  Eg. Wicked stepmother, Cinna, James Bond, Little Mermaid Round Character  Complex and undergo development  Eg. Shrek, Spock, Princess Leia, Batman, all characters in Breakfast Club, Harry Potter, Percy Jackson

8. Is Shrek a round or flat character? Why?

9. Is Chewbacca a round or flat character? Why?

10. Is Scout a round or flat character? Is Atticus a round or flat character? Why

11. Is Bob Ewell a round or flat character?

12. What is the purpose in creating both flat and round characters?

13. An author now has to create these memorable (or not) characters. How do they do it? Good authors use both direct and indirect characterization

14. Direct Presentation (of the character)  words and comments by the narrator, dialogue with others about the character, as well as the character’s own words.  Thoughts - what is going on in the character’s head  Appearance - what they look like (compare Jack and Ralph’s colourings)

15. Direct Characterization Taken from Schmoop.com Taken from Schmoop.com  The novel often sums up its characters in a few words: Miss Stephanie Crawford is "a neighborhood scold" (1.50), Boo Radley is "a malevolent phantom" (1.43), and Mrs. Dubose is "plain hell" (1.14).  While these capsule descriptions are sometimes accurate, most of them become more complex and nuanced through the other "Tools of Characterization" as the book progresses, suggesting that people are rarely as simple as they might seem at first.

16. Indirect Presentation  Actions -what the character does  Interactions - how the character relates to others (How does Ralph treat Piggy? Compare him to Jack) (How does Miss Maudie treat Jem and Scout?)  Change and development- the occurrence of and direction of internal change or development a character undergoes

17. Indirect characterization  While characters may say all kinds of things, it’s what they do that shows what they’re really made of.  Example: Atticus says that Mr. Underwood "despises Negroes, won't have one near him" (16.5), but when a lynch mob threatens both Tom and Atticus, Mr. Underwood is waiting with his shotgun to defend them. And after Tom’s death, Mr. Underwood’s editorial in The Maycomb Tribune takes a much stronger stance in Tom’s favor than most Maycomb citizens are willing to hold to.

18. Character Traits- adjectives to describe the character. No emotions. It is a trait the character ALWAYS exhibits  Able  Active  Adventurous  Affectionate  Afraid  Alert  Ambitious  Angry  Anxious  Apologetic  Arrogant  Attentive  Average www.readwritethink.org

19. Indirect characterization : What traits would you use to describe Atticus based on this quote?  “First of all,” he said, “if you can learn a simple trick, Scout, you’ll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view […] until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.”point of view

20. Character Development Static  Character does not change due to conflict  Eg. Ferris Bueller, Evil Stepmother, Voldemort, James Bond (in the older films) Dynamic  A character that changes their attitude, values or ideas due to the conflict  Eg. Frodo, Cameron, (Ferris Bueller’s Day Off), Katniss, Bella, Luke Skywalker

21. Dynamic and Static characters reinforce theme  If the character changes, then that may be reflected in the theme  Darth Vader turns to the good side. How does this enhance the message in the story? There is an internal struggle.  If the character does NOT change, this also may be reflected in the theme.  Indiana Jones- not a story about internal struggle. We need to trust and rely on him to like him. It is an action movie.

22. Which characters are dynamic or static? Explain.

23. Is Scout a static or dynamic character? Explain.

24. Is Atticus a dynamic or static character? Explain.

25. Questions for “Red Convertible” 1. How does Lyman characterize Henry? (direct, indirect) Give three examples. 2. How does the author characterize Lyman? Give three examples.

26. 1. Describe how Henry changes throughout the story. Use specific evidence from the novel. 2. In the podcast we watched, it says that characterization reveals theme. What is the author trying to say about life through the changes in Henry? Write the answer in a paragraph under your reading response. Give examples from the book. 3. Fill in your chart regarding character. (dynamic/static, round/flat)