Characterization
How does a writer describe and develop a character?
Objectives

In this lesson we will answer:
How are characters developed by a writer?
 What is the difference between direct and indirect
characterization?
 How does a character’s speech reveal their traits?
(dialogue, monologue, soliloquy)
 What is a first-person narrator?

Creating Characters
Creating characters—telling what human beings
are like—is the whole point of writing stories.
Character Development
Writers build characters by revealing
speech
appearance
others’ reactions
private thoughts
actions
Speech
First-person narrators reveal their personal
traits as they
• tell their own stories (using
pronouns like I, me, and we)
• tell us what they think and
feel
Be aware that some first-person
narrators mislead or lie to the
audience.
Speech
Dialogue can reveal a lot about characters and
their relationships with each other. Pay attention to
• what characters say and don’t
say
• how characters respond to
each other
Appearance
Pay attention to language the writer uses to
describe the characters’ looks, clothes, and
demeanor.
The cold within him froze his old features, pricked his
pointed nose, shriveled his cheek, stretched his gait; made
his eyes dry, his thin lips blue. . . .
from A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
• Does the description give you a positive or
negative impression of the character?
• Which words helped depict the appearance?
Private Thoughts
Writers can take us into the characters’ minds to
reveal their thoughts and feelings.
As you read, note whether the characters’
thoughts and feelings match their speech and
actions.
How Other Characters Feel
Watch how other characters in the story react to
the character. Note
• how the others feel about the character
• what the others say about the character
Actions
What characters do and how they treat each other
often reveal the most about them.
Observe characters’ actions to determine
• what their personality is
like
• what motivates them
• how they deal with
conflict
Direct and Indirect
Characterization
Direct Characterization—Writers tell us
directly what characters are like or what their
motives are.
Oh, but he was a tightfisted hand at the grindstone,
Scrooge! a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping,
clutching, covetous old sinner!
from A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
Indirect Characterization—Writers show us
characters (through speech, appearance, private
thoughts, other characters’ reactions, and actions)
but allow us to decide what characters are like.
Let’s Practice
Take a look at the following writing
samples. Based on what you have just
learned, which one has the most
indirect (show) characterization?
Sample 1
Caleb woke up, and there was smoke. He got out
of his tent and saw tall, orange flames. All of the
other campers woke up, too. They were scared.
Caleb could tell. All of a sudden, Caleb heard his
camp counselor’s whistle. That made Caleb
scared. The fire got bigger. It moved closer to the
campground. Caleb was really, really frightened.
His heart beat hard. He heard people talking
about meeting at the canoes. He tried to run
there. His feet would not go.
Sample 2
Caleb woke up. He smelled smoke. As he got out
of his tent, he saw orange flames reaching high in
to the sky. The other campers woke up, too. They
screamed and ran in circles. Over the noise, Caleb
heard his camp counselor’s whistle screaming. The
fire went through the underbrush close to the
camp. Caleb was scare, really scared. His heart
beat hard. He heard the words, “Meet at the
canoes. Meet at the canoes.” When Caleb tried to
move, his feet would not budge.
Sample 3
Caleb awoke to the smell of smoke. As he
unzipped his tent, 30-foot orange flames poked
the night sky. Surrounding campers awakened,
screamed, and ran in circles. Above the din, the
camp counselor’s whistle squealed repeated alarms.
The crackling fire raced through the underbrush
close to the camp. Caleb’s heart pounded like
dynamite, exploding over and over again. “Meet at
the canoes, meet at the canoes,” echoed
somewhere deep in his head. But when Caleb
tried to move, his feet sank into the ground as if
they each weighed 100 pounds.