“thank you m’am” pg 120

“Thank You M’am” pg 120• People in life and in fiction tend to show

their true character when they are in stressful situations. In this story, two characters have a tense encounter. The writer lets their actions and their words (or their silences) tell us about the kind of people they are – or could be.

Character – The Actors in the Story

• Character – An individual in a story, poem or play. Always has human traits, even if the character is an animal.

Characterization – Ways to develop characters

• Writers portray the personalities of characters through a variety of methods.– Direct Characterization – The author directly

describes the character’s traits or special qualities.

– “Bob is a very happy person.”

Indirect Characterization

• Indirect Characterization – The author indirectly describes the character’s traits or special qualities, through:– Appearance– Actions– Speech– Thoughts– How people respond to the character.

• With this method, a writer shows rather than tells the reader what the character is like.

Types of Characters• Flat Characters

• Round Characters

Flat• A flat character has no depth. Such a

character has one or two key personality traits and can be described in a single sentence.

Round• A round character is fleshed out. He or

she is more complex and have depth.

Flat and round characters are both used in literature.

“Thank You M’am” -Assignment

• Answer questions 1,2,4,5, and 6.

• Write a newspaper article about the events from the story. – Must be at least one page long.– Include at least two quotes from fake

interviews.– Have a catchy headline– Include the five W’s (What, who, when,

where and why.)