CHARACTERIZATION

• Characterization

• Types of characters

• Elements of a good character

• An author’s creation of characters

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So what is this thing called CHARACTERIZATION!

It is the way a writer reveals the personality of a character.

Okay! The writer reveals or makes a character…What is a

CHARACTER?

A person or animal in a story, a play or another literary work.

We all remember the characters of

The Fairy Godmother

& Baby Bear

from our childhood readings.

Great! Now that I know what a CHARACTER is--shouldn’t I know what elements a good character has?

• Basics• Name• Personality

• Skills/Faults• Appearance• Past

YES!!

There are SIX ELEMENTS of a good character:

BASICS

• Sex: Male or Female

• Age: Young or Old

• Species: Human, Angel, Ghost, Robot, Etc.

The first decisions a writer must make about his/her character are--

NAME

• Caucasian, African-American, Hispanic, Indian, Middle-Eastern, Etc.

• Male or Female

• Young or Old

• Interesting or Boring

The name of an author’s character helps the reader infer/guess if the character is:

PERSONALITY

• nice and cheerful or mean and grumpy

• sweet and innocent or cruel and naughty

• graceful or clumsy

• brave or cowardly

Writers think about how the character will act under certain conditions--

SKILLS/FAULTS

• Yes! You can knock some things out…

• but you can also bungle them up.

Every person has talents (things you are great at) and faults (things you do terribly). So do characters.

APPEARANCE

• Physical Characteristics: Eyes, Lips, Hair

• Body Shape: Tall and Skinny; Short and Plump

• Clothing: Jeans and T-Shirt; Business Suit; Fancy Dress

• Movement/walk: smooth, overly cool, limp, with crutches

• Mannerisms: Moving hands as he talks; Folding her arms

Just like a person, the way a character looks influences how people think about him/her.

PAST

For example:• A character who loses his parents at a young age

may be scared to get attached to people.• Someone who witnesses someone getting killed

may become a police officer.• A character who sees someone close to them die

because of cancer may become a doctor.

Writers will create a past for a character that causes him to develop the way he has.

Do all CHARACTERS have these elements?

C in d ere llaA k ind , young g ir l w ho los t he r fa the r .

Fo rced to live w ith s tep -m o the r and s is te rsw ho trea ted he r like a m a id , but becam e a p r incess .

Th ose w ith M an yR O U N D C H A R A C TE R S

Th e W olfin "L it t le R ed R id ing Hood"

E vil, sneaky

Th ose w ith on ly 1 o r 2F L A T C H A R A C TE R S

E lem en ts o f a C h arac te rB as ics , Nam e,

P ersona lity , S k ills /F aults ,A ppearance , P as t

Well? Does the CHARACTER’S TYPE as ROUND or FLAT affect how they act in the story?

• ROUND CHARACTERS are often DYNAMIC

• They CHANGE during the story

– grow up

– gain understanding

– make an important decision

– take crucial action

• FLAT CHARACTERS are often STATIC

• They DO NOT CHANGE during the story

– remain the bully

– always the jerk

– unlike real people

YES!

Okay! A writer creates a person or animal for his story by sketching out ELEMENTS and deciding if the CHARACTER is going to be similar to a real person who CHANGES or like a stick person who STAYS THE SAME.

How does the author put all this in the story without boring us to death?

This is the base of CHARACTERIZATION!A writer can use DIRECT CHARACTERIZATION where he tells us everything or INDIRECT CHARACTERIZATION where we have to guess about the character using what the author shows us.

TELLING State directly what the character is like

Ex. Sergeant Randolph was the cruelest drillmasterin the regiment.

SHOWING APPEARANCE Describe how the character looks

Ex. The woman’s coat was gathered about her thinbody and fastened with a safety pin.

SHOWING THE CHARACTER IN ACTION Focus on a scene/part of the story to

determine what the character is like

Ex. Toni glanced around, then tossed her gumwrapper on the grass and kept walking.

SHOWING SPEECH Allowing the reader to hear the character

speak

Ex. “I don’t have to do what you say,” declaredDarlene, glaring at the new baby sitter.

SHOWING THOUGHTS/FEELINGS Paying attention to the actions/manners of

characters

Ex. Tyler didn’t like the looks of the squash puddingbut decided to eat some to please the cook.

SHOWING OTHERS’ REACTIONS Observing how other characters respond to

the character

Ex. “Team up with Erica?” said Jorge. “Well, OK, ifyou can’t get anyone else. But when she was mypartner before, I did all the work while shesocialized.”

Let’s Summarize!(your very own cheat sheet)

• Character: A person or animal that takes place in the action of a story.– Six Elements of a Good Character

• Basics (male/female; age/birthday; species)• Name• Personality• Skills/Faults• Appearance (looks, clothing, mannerisms)• Past

– Four Types of Characters• Round (complex)—have multiple personal traits (5 or 6 from our list) and resemble real people.• Flat (simple)—have only one or two personal traits; are easily recognizable stereotypes (i.e. the

bully)• Dynamic—change during the course of the story• Static—remain the same throughout the story

– Two Ways an Author tells us about Character• Direct Characterization—the author tells us explicitly in the story what the character is like• Indirect Characterization—the reader has to guess what the character is like through the

character’s words & actions

PRACTICE! PRACTICE! PRACTICE!

The following games will help you review the terminology you have learned in this lesson.

•Characterization Review Activities

•Characterization Review--Matching

QUIZ TIME!

Click on the link below to take a quick assessment on characterization

•Characterization Quiz

ResourcesThe following resource was used to complete this presentation:

Elements of Literature: Second Course Teacher’s Edition. New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1997.

This presentation was created by Erica L. Basnight-Johnson, Henrico Co.elbjohnson@henrico.k12.va.us