CHARACTERIZATION ESSAY
I. Task: Using the multi-paragraph format, you will write a character analysis of a character from
The Great Gatsby, including: Nick Carraway, Jay Gatsby, Tom Buchanan, Daisy Buchanan, Jordan
Baker, George Wilson, and Myrtle Wilson.
The major character trait you have chosen for subject will be your central idea. You will brainstorm
many of these, including, but not limited to: insecurity, fearfulness, timidity, introversion, selfloathing, to confidence, ego, braveness, etc.
It is imperative that you learn everything possible about your character and how they relate to
specific circumstances or individuals to write a complete analysis. There are two methods in which
you can organize the support from the text you will use to develop your body paragraphs.
A. OPTION ONE includes grouping the detail and support from the text you wish to use within the
methods of character revelation from the text. These would then become the subtopics of your
body paragraphs and you would group your support within these topics.
 appearance
 reactions of others to the character
 speech (what the character says)
 aspects of setting which influence the
character
 opinions of others on the character
(what others say about the character)
 thoughts
 actions
 narratorial comments (The narrator
sometimes
comments
on
the
character
directly
or
supplies
information about the character's
past)
 reactions of the character (to others
or situations)
II. Form for your essay: Your essay needs an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion.
A. Your introduction: A good introduction attracts the reader's attention, includes basic information
about the novel, states the central idea of your essay, and provides direction for the reader as to
how you will go about developing your essay.
1. You need to create a lead-in, which attracts the reader's attention and sparks interest, a
desire to read your essay.
2. After presenting a general lead-in to your central idea, you must make the transition to
the use of this idea in your essay.
You must include
 the name of the novel and the author
 your central idea (the character trait you see surfacing in your character)
 a thesis statement: (It lets the reader know the nature and order of your subtopics of
development. It is important to include it because it does serve a purpose and tends to
keep the inexperienced writer on topic and organized).
B. Body Paragraphs: These develop the subtopics you have chosen to demonstrate the character
trait. Whichever type of organization you have chosen -- grouping according to the methods of
character revelation or by scene or by some combination-- each body paragraph should have a
clear topic sentence, so that a method of organization is evident. Each should use clear and
accurate detail from the text. You need to explain what is happening in the scene and who is
involved, creating context for your example. Remember, if you are using methods of character
revelation as an organizing tool and are only focusing one method of character revelation from the
scene, you still need to give detail about the scene involved, who is present and what is happening.
With either method of organization, you also need to interpret detail to shape it to your point, having
the character trait surface. You should use at least TWO properly presented and documented
quotation in your body paragraphs.
C. Conclusion: Consider speculating upon the possible consequences of what you have shown
you’re your character. It would be interesting to see how accurate you might be. OR you could
explain how the trait and the impact of what you have shown relates to a context outside the novel,
your
own
life
or
the
world
about
you.
Writing the lead-in for your essay
You could speculate on the nature of the trait you pose:
Most of us feel insecure at times or in certain situations. We may feel uncomfortable when
meeting new people or when the spotlight of a moment is turned upon us. We feel vulnerable,
isolated. However, for most of these are only moments in life and not the usual environment in
which we live. The moments end. We regain our sense security and self.
You could pose a question for the reader and then proceed to answer it:
When was the last time you felt fear? Maybe you were afraid of being punished for something you
had done or maybe a situation at school suddenly erupted into violence and you felt that flash,
that bolt of fear down your spine. Fear is a natural response to a tense situation or potential
danger; however, when it becomes a general reaction to the world around you, perhaps
something is very wrong.
You could create a brief scene for the reader, which shows the power of the trait on an individual:
When I was twelve I remember an argument my parents had. I do not remember all the details or
the issues involved. I only remember the impact of insecurity it produced as I watched that which I
considered my world, my family, falling away.
Example Introduction from Toni Morrison’s novel, The Bluest Eye:
When I was twelve I remember an argument my parents had. I do not remember all the details or
the issues involved. I only remember the impact of insecurity it produced as I watched that which I
considered my world, my family, falling away. In my mind I see brief yet hurtful images -- my
mother, drunken and angry, storming away into the night, threatening to take the car and leave; A
memory of my father, letting the air out of the tires of the family car; Screaming voices finally cutting
a path to sleep as I become too exhausted to follow the aftermath of the argument I do not
understand; my father telling me to change the car tire in the morning and me feeling that that is not
really enough to fix the family. This distant memory was a first taste of insecurity for me, a brief
earthquake that roared through the stability of my family. In The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison,
Pecola, a young girl who briefly touches the life the narrator, Claudia, is depicted as a girl
devastatingly insecure about her place in the world. Several scenes involving both her family and
those she encounters outside her family illustrate this young girl's overwhelming sense of insecurity.