1. Character and Characterization
Who is this person fo’real and how does the author let us know?

2. Types of Characters
Protagonist: the main character in a story-it’s the person whose journey we are going on, so to speak! It may be the hero...but it might not be too.
Antagonist: the person or thing that causes opposition (conflict) for the protagonist
Minor Characters (secondary characters): less significant characters that generally exist to interact with main characters and their development and help move the story along.
Stock Characters and Archetypes: reoccurring character types…we see them all the time! Can you think of examples?

3. Methods of Characterization
Direction Characterization: The author tells what the characters are like
Example: “Ms. Hall is tired”.
Indirect Characterization: The author shows, rather than tells, what the character is like through
Speech/Dialogue
Accents, word choice, what they say about others or things around them, etc.
Thoughts
When narrator is main character
The first person Point of View; “I”
Effects on Others
How do other characters react to them?
Actions
What do they do? How do they do it? (NOT just “do” as in their job!)
Looks/Appearance
How are they described physically?
Condition of clothes
Physical form

4. Discussion questions:
-Why might a character’s actions and speech be misleading?
-Which type of indirect characterization is “most telling” about a character?
-Why might an author choose one type of characterization over another?

5. Character Development
A flat character is an individual whose distinguishing moral qualities or personal traits are summed up in one or two traits.
A round character is an individual whose moral qualities or personal traits are complex and many sided.

6. Character Development
Static characters are the same sort of people at the end of a work as at the beginning. They don’t change.
Dynamic characters change in some important way during the course of the story. They undergo a permanent change in some distinguishing moral qualities or personal traits or outlook.
Epiphany: a sudden revelation of truth experienced by a character; a moment or event in which a character achieves a spiritual insight into life or into her or his own circumstances.

7. Character Arch and Theme
How are they related?
Oftentimes the way in which a character changes (or does not change) throughout the story gives us the biggest hint as to what the author’s message (aka the theme) is in the story!
Tip 1: look for an epiphany, or lack of one, to help you figure theme out.
Tip 2: Storymapping a character’s arch is a great tool in helping you figure out a story’s theme.

8. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqzGMKX Z2MI