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Characterization Building a Character
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What is characterization?
Characterization is the way we learn about a character and how we create and describe a character base on what the playwright has provided. There are two types of characterization: Direct characterization Indirect characterization
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Direct Characterization
Direct characterization. The character him/herself or another character in the play tells the audience what the character is like. From “Of Mice and Men”: Candy: "I ain't much good with on'y one hand. I lost my hand right here on this ranch. That's why they gave me a job swampin'....I ain't much good, but I could cook and tend to the chickens and hoe the garden some. How'd that be?" Presenting information about a character directly through descriptions in dialogue or stage directions/descriptions.
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Indirect characterization
Indirect characterization used 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
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Indirect characterization
Infer the qualities and characteristics of the character – not directly told. 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 personality. Remember the word, STEAL…
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personality of characters
“STEAL” The letters in the word “STEAL” can help you remember the five different ways playwrights use indirect characterization to create characters: “S” stands for SPEECH. What the character says and their unique way to say it. This brings out the personality of characters
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“STEAL” “T” stands for THOUGHTS.
What we learn about the character through his/her private thoughts.
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“STEAL” “E” stands for EFFECT ON OTHERS
What we learn about the character by how other characters feel or act around the him/her.
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“STEAL” “A” stands for ACTIONS. What does the character do?
How does the character behave?
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“STEAL” “L” stands for LOOKS. What does the character look like?
How does the character dress?
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Direct or Indirect? Look at this example and figure out if the if this is direct or indirect characterization: From Pygmalion: (Henry Higgins talking to Colonel Pickering) "Here I am, a shy, diffident sort of man. I've never been able to feel really grown-up and tremendous, like other chaps."
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Direct or Indirect? Look at this example and figure out if this is direct or indirect characterization to help us figure out the personality of the characters: From The Outsiders: (Dally talking with Johnny) “Johnny, you don't know what a few months in jail can do to you, man. You get mean in jail, I just don't wanna see that happen to you like it happened to me, man. Understand?”
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