1. Characterization

2. Bellwork 5/16
Take out your HW (annotated “Lamb to the Slaughter” and written analysis).
Pick any part of the story (a paragraph, a few paragraphs, one sentence, etc.) and draw a big box around it.
Then, on the back of your copy of the story, rewrite the part you boxed using as much imagery as you can (describing it with 5 senses). Be ready to share what you write!

3. Homework Check Switch you written analysis with someone at your table.
Read what they wrote and highlight in one color the literary element (or elements) they wrote about.
Then highlight in another color their analysis (explanation and examples of how the literary element was used in the story).
Give them helpful feedback!

5. noun
the creation or construction of a fictional character.
a description of the distinctive nature or features of someone or something.

6. Characterization What is it?
Characterization is the way in which authors give information about their characters. Characterization can be direct, as when an author tells readers what a character is like (ex: "George was cunning and greedy.") or indirect, as when an author shows what a character is like by portraying his or her actions, speech, or thoughts (ex: "On the crowded subway, George slipped his hand into the man's coat pocket and withdrew the wallet, undetected.").
Descriptions of a character's appearance, behavior, interests, way of speaking, and other mannerisms are all part of characterization.

7. Characterization Notes

8. Tips for Characterization
Give fictional characters meaningful names or use real people's nicknames that relate to their personalities:
Severus Snape—"Severus" means "strict" or "severe" in Latin. Severus Snape is a strict professor who treats Harry harshly.
Sirius Black—"Sirius" is the brightest star in the Canis Major or "Great Dog" constellation. Sirius Black is a wizard who transforms into a black dog.
Peeves—"To peeve" means "to annoy." Peeves is a ghost who pesters people at Hogwart's School.
—J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter series

9. Tips for Characterization
Show others' reactions to the character or person you're portraying:
"No respect at all was shown him in the department. The porters, far from getting up from their seats when he came in, took no more notice of him than if a simple fly had flown across the reception room."
—Nikolai Gogol, "The Overcoat"
Use a character's actions to reveal his or her personality:
"He would hang around our place on Saturdays, scornful of whatever I was doing but unable to leave me alone. I couldn't be on the swing without him wanting to try it, and if I wouldn't give it up he came and pushed me so that I went crooked. He teased the dog. He got me into trouble— deliberately and maliciously, it seemed to me afterward—by daring me to do things I wouldn't have thought of on my own: digging up the potatoes to see how big they were when they were still only the size of marbles, and pushing over the stacked firewood to make a pile we could jump off."
—Alice Munro, "Miles City, Montana"

10. Tips for Characterization
Use dialogue to allow a character's words to reveal something important about his or her nature:
"Unable to contain herself, [Mrs. Bennet] began scolding one of her daughters. 'Don't keep coughing so, Kitty, for heaven's sake! Have a little compassion on my nerves. You tear them to pieces.'" —Jane Austin, Pride and Prejudice
Describe a character's appearance and manner:
"The Baker, who was an older man with a thick neck, listened without saying anything when she told him the child would be eight years old next Monday. The baker wore a white apron that looked like a smock. Straps cut under his arms, went around in back and then to the front again, where they were secured under his heavy waist. He wiped his hands on his apron as he listened to her. He kept his eyes down on the photographs and let her talk."
—Raymond Carver, "A Small, Good Thing"
Portray a character's thoughts and motivations too

11. Tips for Characterization
Characterizing a kind girl: She gently knelt down and stretched out her hand to help her friend return to her feet after her friend fell on the field.
Characterizing a rich man: He chortled heartily before deeply puffing on his high end Cuban cigar, briefly glancing at his Rolex. He announced his driver would arrive at any moment, then tossed back the rest of his high end scotch.
Characterizing a gruff man: “Look here,” he said. “I’m not about to take guff from anyone. I’ve been around the block a few times, and I’m no one’s doormat. I don’t care who you are, where you’re from, I don’t want to hear what you have to say.”
Characterizing n nervous woman: She twisted her fingers in her hands and bit her lip. He leg jiggled quickly and her eyes darted from side to side.
Characterizing an embarrassed person: He dropped his eyes toward the floor and his face burned crimson. His shoulders hunched over and he pursed his lips, clearly attempting to fight back tears.
Characterizing someone who is apologetic: Her eyes pleaded with him to understand what she was explaining, her breath slow in frequency, but intense with each inhale. Her downturned lips revealed the shame she had for what she had done.

12. Tips for Characterization
Characterizing someone who is stingy: Crinkling his brow and wrinkling his nose, Bill screwed up his mouth when he saw the check for dinner. Clearly displeased with the cost of his eggs, bacon, doughnuts, and coffee, he yanked open his wallet, tossed one dollar haphazardly on the table for tip, and went to the counter to pay for the meal.
Characterizing someone who is messy: She answered the door in a hurry, still putting her earrings in and telling me to come in for a moment. I entered what looked like an abandoned war zone with clothes and shoes scattered across the floor, dirty plates with crusty tomato sauce and hardened fettucini noodles dusted with old crumbs of buttered bread piled on the table, and magazines piled haphazardly on every spare surface.
Characterizing someone who is thankful: She couldn’t stop telling him how much she appreciated the small loan he was giving her to get to the next paycheck. Hugs, cheek kisses, and an offer to make dinner for him ensued, her gratitude oozing from her with every word and motion.
Characterizing someone who is inconsiderate: After he arrived about 25 minutes late for the date, he proceeded to honk the horn from his car, forcing me to traverse alone the 15 ice covered concrete steps of my building in my fanciest shoes I had donned for our date.
Characterizing someone who is skillful: He pulled the arrow back on the bow until it would go no further. When it left his hand, it glided through the air and perfectly into the center of the target.

13. Tips for Characterization

14. Tips for Characterization