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Characterization

Learn the methods used by writers to create believable characters in stories, including the use of names, showing and telling, character actions, and dynamic vs. static and flat vs. round characters.

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Characterization

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  1. Characterization ENC 1102 Brown 1/22/2012

  2. Characterization • The methods by which a writer creates people in a story so that they seem actually to exist (BH 121) • Plots are driving by successful characterization

  3. Names • Character’s names often reveal something about their natures • Dickens’s Mr. Gradgrind and Mr. M’Choakumchild from Hard Times

  4. Showing and Telling • Dickens uses physical appearance of Grandgrid to tell the reader what to think of him • Sometimes it’s less obvious what an author wants us to think about a character • Many authors will use a combination of showing and telling to describe a character

  5. Character Actions • Authors make characters more convincing by giving them plausiblemotivations • Even if the action seems unusual or extreme, it may still be plausible if consistent

  6. Dynamic vs. Static • Dynamic characters change somehow by the end of the story • Static characters do not change • A static character may be used as a foil, against which change is revealed in the dynamic character

  7. Flat vs. Round • Flat characters have only one or two main traits • Stock characters are flat characters drawn from recognizable stereotypes (e.g. Adam Sandler’s characters) • Round characters are more complex and capable of surprising readers • Both flat and round characters can be either dynamic or static (BH 126)

  8. Questions?

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