1. TODAY WE WILL LEARN HOW TO BETTER UNDERSTAND/ANALYZE PEOPLE.
2 OCT
2017
BELL ACTIVITY: TAKE OUT THE FOLLOWING ITEMS:
BLANK SHEET OF PAPER
NOTES ON THE LITERARY ELEMENTS CONFLICT & CHARACTER
A PEN
A HIGHLIGHTER
TODAY WE WILL LEARN HOW TO BETTER UNDERSTAND/ANALYZE PEOPLE.
TODAY WE WILL PRACTICE ANALYZING CHARACTERS IN NARRATIVES.

2. Character Types MAJOR MINOR ROUND FLAT DYNAMIC STATIC
LITERARY CHARACTERS & CHARACTERIZATION
Character Types or
MAJOR
MINOR or
FLAT
ROUND or
DYNAMIC
STATIC

3. Examples: Cinderella Wicked step-mother Fairy God-mother
Major Character: a character whose role is essential to the narrative. They add depth and complexity to the narrative and are involved in important conflicts. The PROTAGONIST (the main character around whom the plot revolves and who is involved in the CENTRAL CONFLICT) is always considered a Major Character.
Examples:
Cinderella
Wicked step-mother
Fairy God-mother

4. MINOR Character: are less important to the narrative, although they do interact with the major characters. They MAY add depth to the narrative, but often their roles could be absorbed by another character without it affecting the plot.
Examples:
The step sisters
The foot soldiers

5. Round Character
A well-developed, lifelike character with realistic emotions, conflicting feelings, and multiple traits.
Example: Carrie
Carrie doesn't know what to do. She thinks that her friend Veronica may be getting abused. When she tries to talk to Veronica about this, Veronica covers the marks and tells Carrie that she can’t talk about it. Carrie knows how hard an abusive situation can be and she is concerned that if she doesn't do anything, it might get worse for Veronica. She wants to be strong and helpful but she is scared to do anything that would threaten her friendship with Veronica.
Carrie demonstrates multiple, realistic sides to her personality. She is emotionally conflicted. This makes her a round character.

6. Flat Character
An one-dimensional character that does not display emotional depth and has a single set of traits. Example: Coach Lewis Vince was exhausted from doing laps. His throat was dry and scratchy and the summer sun pounded down on him. He finally summoned the courage to ask Coach Lewis if he could get a drink of water and Coach Lewis laughed, "You can get everyone some water, water boy." Coach Lewis had a reputation for winning, but he also had a reputation for doing whatever it took to win. Coach Lewis is not a warm guy. We know that he is tough, but we do not learn why. No internal struggle with his feelings is revealed; therefore, he is a flat character.

7. Dynamic Character
A character who has an important inner change Example: Jenny At the beginning of the story, Jenny does not appreciate the life that she has until a family emergency causes her to stay at her aunt's house. Things are much different at her aunt's house and everyone who lives there appreciates everything that they get, since they don't get very much. When Jenny is finally able to return home, she has a new perspective and a more appreciative attitude. Notice that Jenny didn't just change her shoes or something little? She underwent a serious and important change in the course of the story; therefore, she is a dynamic character.

8. Static Character
A character that does not change significantly. Example Fred spends most of his days, in his room surrounded by his mess. One day, while everyone is at work the pile of papers stacked next to Fred’s lamp catch fire. No one is hurt but Fred’s room is turned to ashes and he is forced to move to a new place. Within a month Fred’s room is the same messy disaster. Fred’s approach to cleanliness hasn’t changed. His behavior implies that he didn’t learn a lesson. This makes him static characters.

9. Review
All characters are either major or minor depending on the role they play in the narrative.
All characters are either dynamic or static, depending on whether they make important changes.
All characters are either round or flat, depending on how emotionally developed each is.

10. Characterization: CHARACTER TRAITS
elements of a character's personality that define who the character is.
EXAMPLES OF CHARACTER TRAITS:
Shrek is grouchy and irritable. Donkey is friendly and talkative.
Characterization:
HOW a writer communicates a character’s personality (CHARACTER TRAITS) with the reader.

11. 2 METHODS OF CHARACTERIZATION
INDIRECT
Characterization VS
DIRECT

12. Indirect Characterization
Indirect characterizations are implicit (implied or hinted, NOT clearly stated).
The author IMPLIES a character trait by describing the character’s
Speech
Thoughts
Effect on others
Actions
Looks
EXAMPLES OF INDIRECT CHARACTERIZATION: What character traits are implied in the following sentences.
“Jess left the pizza crust on her floor.” What character trait does this imply about Jess?
“Tim helped old Ms. Jones with her bags.” What character trait does this imply about Tim?

13. Direct Characterizations
Direct characterizations are explicit (clearly stated)
Examples of direct characterization:
Tom was brilliant.
Pam was lazy but learned really quickly.
Hector was polite and helpful.

14. Practice inferring character traits from passages containing INDIRECT CHARACTERIZATIONS.
AFTER WE read the passage,
DISCUSS what indirect character trait is shown
and what in the passage was the hint?

15. Example
Mr. Morton was teaching the students about characterizations. Kyle let out a big yawn. “Indirect Characterizations are implied, not explicitly stated,” said Mr. Morton.
1. Kyle is bored or tired.
Ex: He yawned, which shows he’s tired.

16. 1
After class, Deija asked Dana a question, “I’m sorry, Dana, but my little brother was sick and my parents made me stay home and watch him yesterday. Can I see your reading notes?” Dana huffed and rolled her eyes. She replied to Deija, “Uh, I don’t know where they are right now.”

17. Suggested Answer Explanation
Dana is rude, uncaring, and unhelpful.
Explanation
Deija asks Dana for something reasonable. Rather than politely declining, Dana does a bunch of rude stuff.

18. 2
While playing football with his friends, Evan overthrew the ball and accidently broke his mom’s picture window. Nobody was home, but all of the other boys soon found excuses to leave. When Evan’s mom came home, she asked what had happened. Evan looked her in the face and said, “A bird smashed into the window, Mom.”

19. Suggested Answer Explanation
Evan is dishonest and cowardly.
Explanation
Rather than telling his mom the truth about what happened, Evan lies. This shows that he is dishonest and not brave enough to fess up to what he did.

20. 3
Tevin was in excruciating pain from football practice. He had been getting terrible sleep ever since training started. He could hardly sleep ten minutes before the pain caused him to roll around. His body was telling him to quit the team, but Tevin refused to hear it. He had one goal in mind: to make the team. Tevin wouldn’t stop until his body stopped him.

21. CHARACTER TRAITS WORKSHEET.
Work together in your groups to complete the Character Trait worksheet.
You will take turns reading the descriptions out loud, so assign them now and let everyone read silently through their assigned description. If you are unsure how to pronounce a word, raise your hand or ask your group.
When everyone is ready, take turns reading the descriptions out loud.
MARK THE EVIDENCE in the passage: the phrases and words that show us the STEAL.
DECIDE AS A GROUP on the best fitting character trait from the list on the board, and discuss what the evidence is that proves it. (What did you highlight?)
Work together so that everyone in your group understands.
Everyone in the group fills in their own worksheet. If you don’t agree with the group, write your own answer.

22. CHARACTERIZATION WORKSHEET WORD BANK
1-5 POSSIBLE TRAITS
INVENTIVE
SELF-SUFFICIENT
LOYAL
GREEDY
SLOPPY
HELFUL
SELFISH
HONEST
6-10 POSSIBLE TRAITS
INATTENTIVE
SMART
SPOILED
CHILDISH
UNMOTIVATED
GENEROUS
GREEDY

23. A FORMAT FOR COLLECTING EVIDENCE
Character Maps: A resource for character analysis
A FORMAT FOR COLLECTING EVIDENCE
ACTIONS
Use direct quotes
whenever possible
in a character map.
SPEECH & THOUGHT
NAME OF THE
CHARACTER
Determine:
Major or minor
Flat or round
Static or dynamic
EFFECT
LOOK
List possible character traits

24. Speech/ Thought Action Look Effect The sheep MAJOR OR MINOR
ROUND OR FLAT
DYNAMIC OR STATIC
The sheep
TRAITS:
Look
Effect

25. Action Speech/ Thought Look Effect Zander “The Choice” by Nan Marino
MAJOR OR MINOR
Speech/ Thought
Action
ROUND OR FLAT
DYNAMIC OR STATIC
Zander
TRAITS:
Look
Effect

26. BOUNDIN’ by Bud Luckey
Here’s a story on how strange is life with its changes And it happened not long ago. On a high mountain plain, where the sagebrush arranges A playground south of the snow Lived a lamb with a coat of remarkable sheen, It would glint in the sunlight all sparkly and clean, Such a source of great pride, that it caused him to preen. And he’d break out in high stepp’n dance.
He would dance for his neighbors across the way. I must say that they found his dancin’ enhancin’, For they’d also join in the play.
Then one day…
Then a-boundin up the slope Came a great American jackalope. This sage of the sage, this rare hare of hope, Caused to pause and check out the lamb.
“Hey kid, why the mope?”
“I used to be something all covered with fluff, And I’d dance in the sunlight and show off my stuff, Then they hauled me away in a manner quite rough And sheared me and dropped me back here in the buff. And if that’s not enough, now my friends all laugh at me Cause they think I look ridiculous, funny, and pink.”
 “Pink? Pink? Well, what’s wrong with pink? Seems you’ve got a pink kink in your think. Does it matter what color? Well, that gets nope. Be it pink, purple, or heliotrope. Now sometimes you’re up and sometimes you’re down, When you find that you’re down well just look around: You still got a body, good legs and fine feet, Get your head in the right place and hey, you’re complete!”
“Now as for the dancin’, you can do more, You can reach great heights, in fact you can soar. You just get a leg up and ya slap it on down, And you’ll find you’re up in what’s called a bound. Bound, bound, and rebound. Bound and you’re up right next to the sky, And I think you can do it if you give it a try, First get a leg up, slap it on down…”
So every year, along about May, They’d load him up and they’d haul him away, And they’d shave him and dump him all naked and bare. He learned to live with it, he didn’t care, He’d just bound, bound, bound, and rebound.
Now in this world of ups and downs… So nice to know there are jackalopes around.
Rusty