1. 2.5.2019 Pass in Vocab 10 to the interior rows.
Not here yesterday – vocab is in the folder in the back.
Take out two sheets of paper:
Label the first: “Notes: London, Character, Setting & Realism”
Label the second: “Notes: To Build a Fire Character & Setting”

2. London, Character, Setting & Realism

3. Jack London (1876-1916) Writes adventure stories
Traveled as a hobo throughout the United States
Travels and explores “the wild west”

4. Realist writers include specific details about daily life.
Stories are set in real places that authors know well.
Realism focuses on individuals, especially ordinary people.
Characters are complex, their internal thoughts are often explored as well as their actions.
Dialect may be used to portray how people speak in specific places.
Word choice is natural, everyday speech, with an objective detached tone.
Character is KING!
Review of Realism

5. Characters

6. Character / Characterization
Character - is the mental, emotional, and social qualities to distinguish one entity from another (people, animals, spirits, automatons, pieces of furniture, and other animated objects).
Character development - is the change that a character undergoes from the beginning of a story to the end. The importance of a character to the story determines how fully the character is developed.
Characterization - process by which fictional characters are presented/developed

7. Evidence to Consider in Analyzing a Character
Name
Physical appearance
Objects and places associated with them
Actions
Thoughts and speech, including
Content (what) Timing (when) Phrasing (how)
Other character's thoughts about character
Other character’s comments about character
Narrator’
Considering these questions will help you determine what type of character you’ve got.

8. Types of Characters
Flat: a one-dimensional character, typically not central to the story
Round: a complex, fully - developed character, usually prone to change
Static: these can be either round or flat characters, but they do not change during the story. Folktales, fairytales, and other types use static and flat characters whose actions are predictable, so the reader is free to concentrate on the action and them as each moves toward an often times universal discovery

9. Types of Characters Continued
Dynamic – a developing character, usually at the center of the actions, who changes or grows to a new awareness of life
Stock / Stereotype – “borrowed” personages or archetype / a character so little individualized as to show only qualities of an occupation, or national ethnic, or other group which s/he belongs

10. Functions of Character
Protagonist V.
Antagonist
Hero v. Villain
Protagonist – the principle figure in the story
Antagonist – the character with whom the protagonist is engaged in a struggle
Hero – the good guy Antihero – possesses traits that make him/her the opposite of the traditional hero Villain – the bad guy

11. Functions of Characters
Confidant – the character in whom another character (usually the protagonist) confides in
Foil – a secondary character serving as a backdrop (mirror) for a more important character. Typically, the foil is rather ordinary and static so that the unusual qualities of the primary character will be more striking in contrast. Can often be both the confidant and foil

12. Uncommon Types of Characters
Anthropomorphic characterization – is the characterization of animals, inanimate objects, or natural phenomena as people. Skilled authors can use this to create fantasy even from stuffed toys
Animal characters – personified create particular effects, especially when the animal characters contain connotative metaphoric connects to human traits, i.e. Fox = sly, weasel = duplicity, swan = elegance

13. Characterization
Methods of Characterization [“Show and Tell”; or Telling versus Showing]
1. Expository/Direct Presentation: described and/or “explained” by the narrator
2. Dramatic/Indirect Presentation: actions “show” the kind of person the character is
a. His/Her own actions, behavior, speech, and recorded thoughts and/or
b. Qualities are apparent by what other characters say about him/her

14. Setting

15. Don’t Skim the Background Information
“We might be tempted to skim through what seems like mere ‘scenery’ or ‘background information’ to find out what happens next or how things turn out. But in good fiction, setting ALWAYS functions as an integral part of the whole”
Don’t Skim the Background Information

16. Setting is both TIME and PLACE

17. Where (place)
Where = the physical environment where the story takes place ( the description of this environment may suggest its importance to other aspects of the fiction such as theme
Local Color: the use of regional details to add interest and sometimes meaning to the story
Description of specific locale, manner of dress, customs, speech patterns (dialect or accent), and slang expressions
Critical thinkers can determine if these details are just decorative motif or if these details reflect or enhance a theme, add the meaning, or serve as a key to some aspect of the narrative
Regionalism – when the description of a region becomes an intrinsic and necessary part of the work, the relationship of the region to the action is characteristic of Regional Literature

18. When (Time)
When = time includes all of its dimensions. What was going on at the time? What, if any, importance has the period and/or time-span of events with regard to the themes, motifs, characterizations, atmosphere, tone, etc.?
1. What is the period (century, decade, year) during which the action occurs?
2. Over how many hours, days, weeks, months, years, decades, etc. does the action take place?
3. The effects of the setting may include a particular atmosphere, insight to the characters and/or their motivations, and a key connection to or reflection of other aspects of the story

19. Setting often contributes to Atmosphere or Mood
Atmosphere (mood) – the dominant emotion / feeling that pervades a story
Every story has some kind of atmosphere, but in some, it may be the most important feature, or, at least, a key to the main points of the story
Atmosphere is created by descriptive details, dialogue, narrative language, and such

20. Pathetic Fallacy
A literary device in which human emotions are attributed to aspects of nature, such as the weather.
For instance, the weather can be used to reflect a person’s mood, with dark clouds or rain present in a scene involving sorrow.
It’s a form of personification
Example: Bronte’s Wuthering Heights A novel that famously makes use of pathetic fallacy is Wuthering Heights,

21. 2.6.2019 Characterization The Man (text and pg #)
The Dog (text and pg. #)
Name
Physical Appearance
Objects/Places associated with them
Actions
Thoughts
Other character’s comments / narrator’s comments about the character
Pick up a textbook from the back of the room.
Yesterday you were supposed to have a second sheet of paper labeled: Notes: To Build a Fire Character & Setting – take that out.
In the first few minutes of class, create the following chart on the front side of that paper.
The “Actions” and “Thoughts” rows should be the largest.
As you read you’re going to find evidence of who are two main characters are. You’ll have much more information about the man, than the dog.

22. On the back: Notes About Setting: Page #
The back side of your paper will be for you to take note of setting.
You need bullet points of mentions of setting as well as page numbers.

23. AS you read “To Build a Fire” pages 331-346
You’ll be getting a completion grade:
No phones
No earbuds
No talking
No outside work
No sleeping
= Credit for reading