Notes on
Direct vs. Indirect
Characterization
Honors Handbook
Page ___
Direct Characterization
• The narrator directly mentions or
describes the personality of a
character.
• Ex: “She was antisocial and never
showed anyone the least bit respect.”
Indirect
Characterization
• The narrator refrains from directly
telling us what type of person the
character is, but leaves it up to the
readers to decide for themselves.
• But how?
Four ways to create a
character indirectly
• Reveal the character’s personality
through:
– His/her behavior and actions.
– His/her physical appearance, dress.
– His/her words, thoughts, beliefs, or
manner of speaking.
– What other characters say, think, or
feel about him/her.
Indirect
Characterization
• Used most often.
• Requires us to draw conclusions or
make observations.
• Psychoanalyze
To prepare for the test,
do the following:
•
Look for evidence (passages, quotations,
narration, etc.) showing how each story’s
narrator develops the following characters
through the 4 methods of indirect
characterization:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Rainsford
Walter Mitty
Fiona Farmer
The boy in “Two Soldiers”
The bachelor in “The Story-Teller”