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Characterization. The motto of good writers: “show, don’t tell”. Direct Characterization. It is when the author tells the reader about a character directly. Cinderella was a beautiful princess with long, flowing blonde hair.
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Characterization The motto of good writers: “show, don’t tell”
Direct Characterization It is when the author tells the reader about a character directly. Cinderella was a beautiful princess with long, flowing blonde hair. • Physical traits/personality traits: good writers will focus on certain physical traits/personality characteristics to foreshadow the action of the story foreshadowing is a hinting at things to come in the story. For example, focusing on Edward’s odd-colored eyes and their eerie red glow gave readers a hint that he was not quite human in Twilight. • Direct characterization can be creative and interesting, but it should be kept to a minimum because it does not involve the reader in the story the way indirect characterization does.
Indirect characterization • The writer “shows” the reader his character, rather than directly describing the character. This can be accomplished in a number of ways: • Action: characters are what they DO. How a character acts/reacts shows the reader his personality, strengths and weaknesses. • Dialogue: characters are what they SAY. Accent, mode of speech, diction, interaction with other characters can show the morals, personality traits, attitudes/beliefs, background, nationality, gender and social skills of the character. Accent and word choice can also contribute to setting because they can be used to hint at a time-frame for the story. (If the character says “wherefore art thou,” you can assume he lived in England around the time of King James and/or Shakespeare). • Internalization: characters are what they THINK (the reader can determine a lot by the private thoughts of the character) • Setting: the place and time that the character finds himself in can reveal a lot about the character. (for example, when someone wakes up in a coffin with a thirst for blood, it’s a pretty good bet he’s a vampire) • What other characters think: what other characters say & think about the character and how they treat the character. • Hints & comparisons to other characters in the story. • The symbolism of names, physical traits & other details of the character can reveal the nature of the character and foreshadow future events in the story. • For example, a female character named “Eve” could be symbolic of…
