1. Static and Dynamic Characters

2. Static Characters A static character is one who remains basically unchanged throughout a work Much like static on a T.V. set will stay the same

3. Dynamic Characters A dynamic character undergoes a permanent change during a story Much like dynamite will cause something to change by explosion

4. Now sit back and enjoy the following poems/stories. Be sure to be looking for static and dynamic characters!

5. The Peanut Butter Sandwich By: Shel Silverstein https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGwh1A4s98U If you wish to hear Shel Silverstein read it himself:

6. The Peanut Butter Sandwich By: Shel Silverstein I'll sing you a story of silly young king Who played with the world at the end of a string. But he only loved one single thing -- And that was just a peanut-butter sandwich.

7. His subjects all were silly fools For he had passed a royal rule That all that they could learn in school Was how to make a peanut-butter sandwich.

8. His scepter wand his royal gowns, His regal throne and golden crowns Were brown and sticky from the mounds And drippings from each peanut-butter sandwich.

9. He would not eat his sovereign steak, He scorned his soup and kingly cake, And told his courtly cook to bake An extra-sticky peanut-butter sandwich.

10. And then one day he took a bite And started chewing with delight, But found his mouth was stuck quite tight From that last bite of peanut-butter sandwich. And then one day he took a bite And started chewing with delight, But found his mouth was stuck quite tight From that last bite of peanut-butter sandwich.

11. His brother pulled, his sister pried, The wizard pushed, his mother cried, "My boy's committed suicide From eating his last peanut-butter sandwich!"

12. The dentist came, and the royal doc. The royal plumber banged and knocked, But still those jaws stayed tightly locked. Oh darn that sticky peanut-butter sandwich!

13. The carpenter, he tried with pliers, The telephone man tried with wires, The firemen, they tried with fire, But couldn't melt that peanut-butter sandwich.

14. With ropes and pulleys, drills and coil, With steam and lubricating oil -- For twenty years of tears and toil -- They fought that awful peanut-butter sandwich.

15. Then all his royal subjects came. They hooked his jaws with grapplin' chains And pulled both ways with might and main Against that stubborn peanut-butter sandwich.

16. Each man and woman, girl and boy Put down their ploughs and pots and toys And pulled until kerack! Oh, joy -- They broke right through that peanut- butter sandwich.

17. A puff of dust, a screech, a squeak -- The kin's jaw opened with a creak. And then in voice so faint and weak -- The first words that they heard him speak Were, "How about a peanut-butter sandwich?"

18. Static or Dynamic? State whether the character of the king is static or dynamic

19. Answer: Static The king goes through the horrible ordeal of having his mouth stuck together by a peanut butter sandwich for TWENTY years. The king goes through the horrible ordeal of having his mouth stuck together by a peanut butter sandwich for TWENTY years. However, as soon as he gets unstuck….he wants another peanut butter sandwich showing he did not undergo a major change. However, as soon as he gets unstuck….he wants another peanut butter sandwich showing he did not undergo a major change.

20. Garbage By: Shel Silverstein https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jw2ZeCfkpfk If you want to hear Shel Silverstein read it himself

21. Garbage By Shel Silverstein Garbage By Shel Silverstein Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout Would not take the garbage out! She'd scour the pots and scrape the pans, Candy the yams and spice the hams, And though her daddy would scream and shout, She simply would not take the garbage out.

22. And so it piled up to the ceilings: Coffee grounds, potato peelings, Brown bananas, rotten peas, Chunks of sour cottage cheese. It filled the can, it covered the floor, It cracked the window and blocked the door…

23. With bacon rinds and chicken bones, Drippy ends of ice cream cones, Prune pits, peach pits, orange peel, Gloppy glumps of cold oatmeal, Pizza crusts and withered greens, Soggy beans and tangerines, Crusts of black burned buttered toast, Gristly bits of beefy roasts...

24. The garbage rolled on down the hall, It raised the roof, it broke the wall... Greasy napkins, cookie crumbs, Globs of gooey bubble gum, Cellophane from green baloney, Rubbery blubbery macaroni, Peanut butter, caked and dry, Curdled milk and crusts of pie….

25. Moldy melons, dried-up mustard, Eggshells mixed with lemon custard, Cold French fries and rancid meat, Yellow lumps of Cream of Wheat. At last the garbage reached so high That it finally touched the sky. And all the neighbors moved away, And none of her friends would come to play. And finally Sarah Cynthia Stout said, "OK, I'll take the garbage out!"

26. But then, of course, it was too late... The garbage reached across the state, From New York to the Golden Gate. And there, in the garbage she did hate, Poor Sarah met an awful fate, That I cannot now relate

27. Because the hour is much too late. But children, remember Sarah Stout And always take the garbage out!

28. Static or Dynamic? State whether the character of Sarah is static or dynamic

29. Answer: Dynamic The answer is dynamic because Sylvia does state, "OK, I'll take the garbage out!" The answer is dynamic because Sylvia does state, "OK, I'll take the garbage out!" showing that she does change her mind and viewpoint….however it was just too late.

30. Melinda Mae By: Shel Silverstein https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uP0ms7Mkj84 If you want to hear Shel Silverstein read it himself

31. “Melinda Mae” Have you heard of tiny Melinda Mae, Who ate a monstrous whale? She thought she could, She said she would, So she started in right at the tail. And everyone said, "You're much too small," But that didn't bother Melinda at all, She took little bites and she chewed very slow, Just like a little girl should......and eighty-nine years later she ate that whale Because she said she would!!!

32. Static or Dynamic? State whether Melinda Mae is Static or Dynamic.

33. Answer: Static Melinda Mae is static “because she said she would” eat the whale and spent eighty-nine years doing so. She never gave up and never changed her mind.

34. Zebra Question By: Shel Silverstein https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUeWWpRK2ew If you want to hear Shel Silverstein read it himself

35. Zebra Question I asked the Zebra, Are you black with white stripes? Or white with black stripes? And the zebra asked me, Are you good with bad habits? Or are you bad with good habits? Are you noisy with quiet times?

36. Zebra Question Or are you quiet with noisy times? Are you happy with some sad days? Or are you sad with some happy day? Are you neat with some sloppy ways? Or are you sloppy with some neat ways? And on and on and on and on And on and on he went. I'll never ask a zebra About stripes Again.

37. Static or Dynamic? State whether Zebra is Static or Dynamic.

38. Answer: Static The narrator is dynamic because in the beginning he asked the zebra a question but became so annoyed he decided to NEVER ask a zebra a question again.

39. Complainin’ Jack By: Shel Silverstein

40. “Complainin’ Jack” This morning my old jack-in-the-box Popped out– – and wouldn’t get back-in-the-box. He cried, “Hey, there’s a tack-in-the-box, And it’s cutting me through and through. “There also is a crack-in-the-box, And I never find a snack-in-the-box, And sometimes I hear a quack-in-the-box, ‘Cause a duck lives in here too.” Complain, complain is all he did– – I finally had to close the lid.

41. Static or Dynamic? State whether Jack is Static or Dynamic.

42. Answer: Static Complainin’ Jack is static because it states, “complain, complain is all he did.”

43. Almost Perfect By: Shel Silverstein https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2bqI5iBFJI If you want to hear Shel Silverstein read it himself

44. Almost Perfect “Almost perfect… but not quite.” Those were the words of Mary Hume At her seventh birthday party, Looking ‘round the ribboned room. “This tablecloth is pink not white— Almost perfect…but not quite.”

45. Almost Perfect “Almost perfect…but not quite.” Those were the words of grown-up Mary Talking about her handsome beau, The one she wasn’t gonna marry. “Squeezes me a bit too tight— Almost perfect…but not quite.”

46. Almost Perfect “Almost perfect…but not quite.” Those were the words of ol’ Miss Hume. Teaching in the seventh grade, Grading papers in the gloom Late at night up in her room. “They never cross their t’s just right— Almost perfect…but not quite.”

47. Almost Perfect Ninety-eight the day she died Complainin’ bout the spotless floor. People shook their heads and sighed, “Guess that she’ll like heaven more.” Up went her soul on feathered wings, Out the door, up out of sight. Another voice from heaven came— “Almost perfect…but not quite.”

48. Static or Dynamic? State whether Mary is Static or Dynamic.

49. Answer: Static Mary Hume is static because she never stops complainin’ even when she gets to heaven. Things are still, “Almost perfect….but not quite.”

50. Rip Van Winkle summary One day long ago Rip Van Winkle took a walk in the woods. While he was in the woods he fell asleep. He slept, and slept, and slept, and slept. He slept for twenty years. When he woke up the world around him had changed. Rip still felt the same, but his wife had aged, his children were married, and someone else was living in his house.

51. Static or Dynamic? State whether Rip is Static or Dynamic.

52. Answer: Static Rip Van Winkle slept for twenty years and his entire life, family, and home changed, but Rip “ still felt the same. ” Rip Van Winkle slept for twenty years and his entire life, family, and home changed, but Rip “ still felt the same. ” Rip Van Winkle ’ s world around him may have changed, but he did not. Rip Van Winkle ’ s world around him may have changed, but he did not.

53. Assignment Use your imagination and write a short story (one-page) that contains either a dynamic or a static character. Use your imagination and write a short story (one-page) that contains either a dynamic or a static character. Use your notes to review the characteristics of static and dynamic characters before you begin Use your notes to review the characteristics of static and dynamic characters before you begin Good-Luck and have fun! Good-Luck and have fun!

54. Questions?