Character

Who is the story about?

Creating characters—telling what human beings are like—is the whole point of writing stories.

Creating Characters

Writers build characters by revealing

speech appearance private thoughts

others’ reactions actions

Character Development

Which methods of character development are being used?

What do you think

of the man based

on this excerpt?

Character Development

Quick Check

“Keep still, you little devil, or I’ll cut your throat!”

A fearful man, all in coarse grey, with a great iron on his leg. A man with no hat, and with broken shoes, and with an old rag tied round his head. A man who had been soaked in water, and smothered in mud, and lamed by stones, and cut by flints . . . ; who limped, and shivered, and glared and growled; and whose teeth chattered in his head as he seized me by the chin.

from Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

First-person narrators reveal their personal traits as they

• tell us what they think and feel

Be aware that some first-person narrators mislead or lie to the audience.

• tell their own stories (using pronouns like I, me, and we)

Speech

• what characters say and don’t say

Dialogue can reveal a lot about characters and their relationships with each other. Pay attention to

• how characters respond to each other

Speech

Pay attention to language the writer uses to describe the characters’ looks, clothes, and demeanor.

• Does the description give you a positive or negative impression of the character?

Appearance

• Which words contribute to this impression?

The cold within him froze his old features, nipped his pointed nose, shriveled his cheek, stiffened his gait; made his eyes red, his thin lips blue. . . .

from A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

Writers can take us into the characters’ minds to reveal their thoughts and feelings.

As you read, note whether the characters’ thoughts and feelings match their speech and actions.

Private Thoughts

Watch how other characters in the story react to the character. Note

• how the others feel about the character

• what the others say about the character

How Other Characters Feel

What characters do and how they treat each other often reveal the most about them.

Observe characters’ actions to determine

• what their personality is like

• what motivates them

• how they deal with conflict

Actions

Direct Characterization—Writers tell us directly what characters are like or what their motives are.

Oh, but he was a tightfisted hand at the grindstone, Scrooge! a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous old sinner!

from A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

Indirect Characterization—Writers show us characters (through speech, appearance, private thoughts, other characters’ reactions, and actions) but allow us to decide what characters are like.

Direct and Indirect Characterization

Quick CheckMy sister, Mrs. Joe, with black hair and eyes, had such a prevailing redness of skin that I sometimes used to wonder whether it was possible she washed herself with a nutmeg-grater instead of soap. She was tall and bony, and almost always wore a coarse apron, fastened over her figure behind with two loops, and having a square impregnable bib in front, that was stuck full of pins and needles.

from Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

Is this an example of direct or indirect characterization?

What kind of person do you think this character is?

Direct and Indirect Characterization

What draws readers into a story?

Connecting with Characters

Vivid, complex characters whose problems and triumphs draw forth our emotions and reveal some truth about humankind.

• The action of the story revolves around the protagonist and the conflict he or she faces.

Main Characters

Protagonist—the main character of a story.

Antagonist—the character or force the protagonist struggles against and must overcome.

Subordinate characters add depth and complication to the plot.

Subordinate Characters

Main character

Friends

Flat characters

• have only one or two character traits that can be described in a few words

Flat Characters versus Round Characters

• have no depth, like a piece of cardboard

Round characters

• have many different character traits that sometimes contradict each other

Flat Characters versus Round Characters

• are much like real people, with several sides to their personality

Dynamic characters

• change or grow as a result of the story’s actions

Dynamic Characters versus Static Characters

• learn something about themselves, other people, or the world as they struggle to resolve their conflicts

The changes that a dynamic character undergoes contribute to the meaning of the story.

Static characters

• do not change or grow

Dynamic Characters versus Static Characters

• are the same at the end of a story as they were in the beginning

Subordinate characters are often static characters.

External conflict—struggle between a character and an outside force.

• character versus character

Conflict

• character versus society

• character versus nature

Conflict

Internal conflict—struggle between opposing needs or desires or emotions within a character.

• character versus himself

• character versus herself

What type of conflict does the character face?

Conflict

Quick Check

“Y’all git some stones,” commanded Joey now and was met with instant giggling obedience as everyone except me began to gather pebbles from the dusty ground. “Come on, Lizabeth.”

I just stood there peering through the bushes, torn between wanting to join the fun and feeling that it was a bit silly.

from “Marigolds” by Eugenia W. Collier

Motivation—what drives a character’s actions. It

Motivation

• explains behaviors

• is often based on character’s fears, conflicts, needs

Motivation can be inferred by observing characters’ behavior, speech, actions.

• reveals personality

The End