Do Now Dec. 15, Think about your favorite character you’ve seen on tv/movies or read in a book. 2. Write:  In 2-3 sentences, describe who the character is.  In 3-4 sentences, discuss whether or not you are able to identify with the character, and why/why not. 3. Pair-share  With a group member, share your responses.

Essential Question: HOW DO AUTHORS EFFECTIVELY DEVELOP CHARACTERS IN A LITERARY TEXT? Characterization

What is characterization? Characterization is the way writers create and describe a character for the reader. There are two types of characterization:  Direct characterization  Indirect characterization

Direct characterization Writers TELL us what type of character we are reading about There, struggling to free his leg, which had been caught under the log, lay a short, thickset figure: a dwarf with red hair bristling in all directions beneath his round, close-fitting leather cap. At this the dwarf blew out his breath and shook his fists. “I can’t do it!” he shouted. “Not matter how I try! I can’t make myself invisible! Everyone in my family can disappear---poof! Gone! Vanished! But not me! Not Doli! Believe me, if I could have done, you never would have found me in such a plight. Worse luck! Well, come on. Don’t stand there goggling like an idiot. Help me get loose!” As readers, we don’t have to wonder what the character looks like or what his demeanor is. The writer TELLS us DIRECTLY.

Indirect characterization Writers use indirect characterization to show (not tell) things that reveal the personality of a character:  The character’s speech,  The character’s thoughts,  The effect the character has on others,  The character’s actions,  The physical “looks” of the character

Indirect characterization It is more like the way we learn about people in real life because we naturally observe people and characters in films, etc. to figure out his/her/its personality. Remember the word, STEAL…

“ S TEAL ” The letters in the word “STEAL” can help you remember the five different ways writers use indirect characterization to create characters: “S” stands for SPEECH. Why it works: Writers help readers learn about a character by giving the character something to say and a unique way to say it. This brings out the personality of characters.

“T” stands for THOUGHTS. What can we learn about the character through reading his/her/its private thoughts? Why it works: Writers allow readers to learn the private thoughts of characters to learn their personalities.

“E” stands for EFFECT ON OTHERS We can learn about a character by looking at how he/she makes other characters feel or act.

“A” stands for ACTIONS. What does the character do? How does the character behave? Why it works: Writers create actions for characters to help readers learn the personality of characters.

“ STEA L ” “L” stands for LOOKS. What does the character look like? How does the character dress? Why it works: Writers use descriptions of characters’ physical attributes to help readers learn the personality of characters.

Describing a character When you describe a character, use BOTH: Character traits = describe personality, behavior, and attitudes; Examples: friendly, trustworthy, brave, dishonest Physical traits = things that you can “see”; what a character looks like; Examples: age, hair color, height, clothing