1. All About Characters!
Eng 12 Short Story Terms

2. First Person – Story told through the eyes of the character
First Person – Story told through the eyes of the character. Uses “I”, “my” and “me”
Limited Omniscient – narrator tells the story where we know some of the thoughts and feelings of 1 or some of the characters
Omniscient – narrator tells the story where we know ALL of the characters’ thoughts and feelings
Objective – narrator tells the story where we don’t know any of the characters’ thoughts and feelings
Review – Point of View

3. This is all the information we learn about a character.
We can learn about a character in three ways:
What the character does
What the character says/thinks/feels (if it is not objective)
What others say about the character
Characterization

4. How do we learn about the narrator in Identities?
Characterization

5. Direct Presentation is when the author directly TELLS us what they want us know to about the character.
Ex. Karen was a kind girl. She is always smiling at people and very rarely gets angry at anyone but herself.
Direct Presentation

6. Indirect Presentation
Indirect Presentation is when the author doesn’t tell us directly, but rather SHOWS us through a characters words and actions.
Ex. Karen walked down the hall, smiling. As she passed the girls down the hall, one girl commented sarcastically, “Doesn’t she EVER frown?”
Indirect Presentation

7. Direct vs. Indirect Direct Presentation = TELLING
Indirect Presentation = SHOWING
Is “The Cabin Door” mostly Direct or Indirect Presentation?
Direct vs. Indirect

8. A static character is a character that stays the same from beginning to end
Eg. If they are grumpy in the beginning, they are grumpy in the end.
Who are static characters in Identities and Blue Boots?
Static Character

9. Dynamic characters change internally throughout the story
Eg. If they are angry in the beginning, maybe they learn something in the story and it makes them nice in the end
Who are dynamic characters in Identities and Blue Boots?
Dynamic Character

10. A flat character is a character who we don’t know about
A flat character is a character who we don’t know about. We may know what they look like or basic personality, but we don’t know details.
Most of the time, secondary characters (example, a friend of the protagonist) are flat characters
Examples from the stories??
Flat Character

11. A round character is a character we know many sides of
A round character is a character we know many sides of. We know what makes them feel certain things, what motivates them. We know many sides of their personality and details of their life in general
Most often, the protagonist is a round character
Round Character

12. Most often, but not always, round characters are also___________ characters.
Most often, but not always, flat characters are also _______________ characters.
Characters