Emily Stanton
0218
Characterization is what gives fictional characters their personalities. Writing Fiction,
written by Janet Burroway, states that there are six basic methods of character presentation.
“Emergency” by Denis Johnson and “An Irrevocable Diameter” by Grace Paley are both short
stories with unique and complex characters. Both Johnson and Paley use characterization
methods to bring their characters to life.
Characterization can be achieved through direct or indirect means. Indirect methods
consist of interpretation by another character and authorial interpretation. Direct methods include
action, thought, appearance and most importantly dialogue.
Writing Fiction states that, “Speech characterizes in a way that is different from
appearance, because speech represents and effort, mainly voluntary, to externalize the internal
and to manifest not merely taste or preference but also deliberate thought. Like fiction itself,
human dialogue attempts to marry logic to emotion.” Dialogue can be written in a variety of
ways. An author can use summary, indirect, direct, and even absence. Text and subtext are also
important components of dialogue and dialogue interpretation.
Johnson uses dialogue to convey the desires of the characters in “Emergency.” “Georgie
asked, “Does everything you touch turn to shit? Does this happen to you every time?”’ Georgie
is an orderly in an emergency room. When he killed a rabbit, he made a point to save its babies.
He left them with the narrator, but because of the narrator’s neglect they all died. Georgie values
life and wants to save lives. This is shown at the end of the short story. “After a while Hardee
asked Georgie, “What do you do for a job,” and Georgie said, “I save lives.”’
Paley uses dialogue in “An Irrevocable Diameter” to flesh out the characters. ‘“I am just
sick of this crap!” she yelled. “I am heartily and utterly sick of being pushed around. Every time
I come home a little late, you call the police. This is the third time, the third time. I am sick of
you and Daddy. I hate this place. I hate living here…”’ Cindy is an overprotected teenager who
just wants to live her own life. She rebels against her parents because she feels suffocated. She
acts like she is worldly and wise, but she is really just a scared child.
‘“Thirty-two,” I said as quick as nighttime in the tropics. “Thirty-two,” I repeated to
reassure myself, since I was subtracting three years wasted in the army as well as the first two
years of my life, which I can’t remember a damn thing about anyway.”’ Charles hates who he is.
He wants to be young again, which is why he was so attracted to Cindy, a teenager. The most
revealing dialogue from Charles is his inner dialogue.
Dialogue can also be used to set the tone of story. Johnson employs this method with
“Emergency.” ‘“I was peeping on the lady next door while she was out there sunbathing,” he
said. “My wife decided to blind me.”’ ““Fuckhead’ is gonna ride you to your grave.”’ These
lines of dialogue help create the sarcastic and odd tone of the story.
“Emergency” and “An Irrevocable Diameter” are short stories that make use of
characterization. Johnson and Paley use direct and indirect methods to present their characters in
their short stories. Dialogue is their most important tool. Dialogue develops the characters with a
light hand, letting the reader fill in the blanks and make their own judgments about the characters.
It advances the story and character development without the author having to spell out every
important plot point. Dialogue can show and not tell, just as details can. As Writing Fiction states,
dialogue “needs simultaneously to characterize, provide exposition, set the scene, advance the
action, foreshadow, and/or remind.”