What Is Characterization?

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Elements of Literature Characters
Feature Menu
What Is Characterization? Direct Characterization
Indirect Characterization Motivation Practice
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What Is Characterization?
Characterization is the way a writer reveals
character.
Good characterization breathes life into
characters
and makes readers want to know more about them.
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What Is Characterization?
Characterization is the way a writer reveals
character.
Poor characterization makes the people in a story
seem lifeless and uninteresting.
If the characters in a story dont seem real,
most readers will want to stop reading.
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What Is Characterization?
Harriet Tubman was an African American woman who
helped slaves escape and travel North to freedom.
Listen as author Ann Petry brings Tubman to life
for her readers. What does Petrys
characterization tell you about Harriet Tubman?
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What Is Characterization?
Throughout her book about Harriet Tubman, Ann
Petry describes not only what Tubman did but also
how she did it.
Petry doesnt state directly that Tubman was
smart, courageous, and strong of faith.
But her stories about Tubman show these qualities
to readers.
End of Section
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Direct Characterization
In direct characterization the writer simply
tells us what the character is like.
Margot was stylish and a bit of a snob.
Margot was a daring, gregarious woman.
Margot was an entertaining, but not always kind,
friend.
Margot was blunt to the point of rudeness.
End of Section
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Indirect Characterization
In indirect characterization, writers show a
character in action and let us decide for
ourselves what kind of person we are meeting.
Reading indirect characterization is like getting
to know a new friend.
There are many clues that add up to a total
picture of the persons character.
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Indirect Characterization
One method of indirect characterization is
describing the characters appearance.
Tyler dyed his hair bright red and wore it in
long, stiff ridges that stood straight up from
his head. He always wore tough-looking but odd
clothes, and he frowned at everyone.
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Indirect Characterization
Another method of indirect characterization is
showing the character in action.
Whenever the teacher asked a question, Robert was
the first to raise his hand. He would wave it
back and forth until he was called on.
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Indirect Characterization
A third method of indirect characterization is
allowing readers to hear the character speak.
When I asked Mr. Rivers to keep his dog out of
our yard, he yelled, No one tells me or my dog
what to do, especially not you! He jabbed his
finger toward me. I pay my taxes, and my dog
will go wherever he likes!
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Indirect Characterization
A fourth method of indirect characterization is
revealing the characters thoughts and feelings.
I cant believe how frail Grandma looks, Jamal
thought. Shes no bigger than a child. I never
thought I would be tucking her into bed.
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Indirect Characterization
A final method of indirect characterization is
showing how others react to a character.
Theyd been in the river all day, and everyone
was hungry, but Tina kept yelling, Ten more
miles! Ten more miles! Ginny closed her eyes,
and everyone else looked away. Finally Mike said,
Youre on your own, Tina.
End of Section
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Motivation
Motivation is what makes people behave the way
they do.
What do you think motivates the people in the
pictures above?
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Motivation
In real life we may never know what motivates
other people.
But literature is different.
In literature youll find plenty of clues to a
characters motive.
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Motivation
What clues in this passage help you figure out
the characters motivation?
Tonya stepped carefully through the front door
and closed it slowly behind her, wincing when it
clicked shut. Maybe if she didnt make another
sound, her mother would not know she was
home. Just as she reached the carpeted stairway,
having avoiding all of the squeaky floorboards,
Tonya heard the sound of Kippers toenails
scrambling across the floor. Kipper threw all
forty pounds of his furry self onto Tonya,
knocking her against the wall. Tonya, is that
you? her mother called from the kitchen. Honey,
we need to talk.
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Motivation
The boldface text suggests that Tonyas motive is
to avoid a conversation with her mother.
Tonya stepped carefully through the front door
and closed it slowly behind her, wincing when it
clicked shut. Maybe if she didnt make another
sound, her mother would not know she was
home. Just as she reached the carpeted stairway,
having avoided all of the squeaky floorboards,
Tonya heard the sound of Kippers toenails
scrambling across the floor. Kipper threw all
forty pounds of his furry self onto Tonya,
knocking her against the wall. Tonya, is that
you? her mother called from the kitchen. Honey,
we need to talk.
End of Section
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Practice
1. Which sentence is an example of direct
characterization?
from I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya
Angelou Mrs. Bertha Flowers was the aristocrat
of Black Stamps. She had the grace of control to
appear warm in the coldest weather, and on the
Arkansas summer days it seemed she had a private
breeze which swirled around, cooling her. She was
thin without the taut look of wiry people, and
her printed voile dresses and flowered hats were
as right for her as denim overalls for a farmer.
She was our sides answer to the richest white
woman in town.
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Practice
1. Which sentence is an example of direct
characterization?
Mrs. Bertha Flowers was the aristocrat of Black
Stamps. She had the grace of control to appear
warm in the coldest weather, and on the Arkansas
summer days it seemed she had a private breeze
which swirled around, cooling her. She was thin
without the taut look of wiry people, and her
printed voile dresses and flowered hats were as
right for her as denim overalls for a farmer. She
was our sides answer to the richest white woman
in town.
the first sentence
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Practice
2. Which sentences describe the characters
appearance?
Her skin was a rich black that would have
peeled like a plum if snagged, but then no one
would have thought of getting close enough to
Mrs. Flowers to ruffle her dress, let alone snag
her skin. She didnt encourage familiarity. She
wore gloves too. I dont think I ever saw Mrs.
Flowers laugh, but she smiled often. A slow
widening of her thin black lips to show even,
small white teeth, then the slow, effortless
closing.
3. Which sentences describe her actions?
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Practice
Her skin was a rich black that would have
peeled like a plum if snagged, but then no one
would have thought of getting close enough to
Mrs. Flowers to ruffle her dress, let alone snag
her skin. She didnt encourage familiarity. She
wore gloves too. I dont think I ever saw Mrs.
Flowers laugh, but she smiled often. A slow
widening of her thin black lips to show even,
small white teeth, then the slow, effortless
closing.
2. Which sentences describe the characters
appearance?
The boldface text describes Mrs. Flowerss
appearance.
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Practice
Her skin was a rich black that would have
peeled like a plum if snagged, but then no one
would have thought of getting close enough to
Mrs. Flowers to ruffle her dress, let alone snag
her skin. She didnt encourage familiarity. She
wore gloves too. I dont think I ever saw Mrs.
Flowers laugh, but she smiled often. A slow
widening of her thin black lips to show even,
small white teeth, then the slow, effortless
closing.
3. Which sentences describe her actions?
The boldfaced text describes Mrs. Flowerss
actions.
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Practice
When she chose to smile on me, I always wanted
to thank her. The action was so graceful and
inclusively benign. . . . One summer
afternoon, sweet-milk fresh in my memory, she
stopped at the Store to buy provisions. Another
Negro woman of her health and age would have been
expected to carry the paper sacks home in one
hand, but Momma said, Sister Flowers, Ill send
Bailey up to your house with these things.
4. Which sentences describe another characters
reaction to Mrs. Flowers?
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Practice
When she chose to smile on me, I always wanted
to thank her. The action was so graceful and
inclusively benign. . . . One summer
afternoon, sweet-milk fresh in my memory, she
stopped at the Store to buy provisions. Another
Negro woman of her health and age would have been
expected to carry the paper sacks home in one
hand, but Momma said, Sister Flowers, Ill send
Bailey up to your house with these things.
4. Which sentences describe another characters
reaction to Mrs. Flowers?
The boldface text describes other characters
reactions.
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Practice
5. What motivation might Mrs. Flowers have for
talking to Marguerite?
She smiled that slow dragging smile, Thank you,
Mrs. Henderson. Id prefer Marguerite, though.
My name was beautiful when she said it. Ive
been meaning to talk to her, anyway. They gave
each other age-group looks. . . . Mrs. Flowers
said, without turning her head, to me, I hear
youre doing very good schoolwork, Marguerite,
but that its all written. The teachers report
that they have trouble getting you to talk in
class.
6. Which sentences provide clues to Mrs.
Flowerss motivation?
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Practice
She smiled that slow dragging smile, Thank you,
Mrs. Henderson. Id prefer Marguerite, though.
My name was beautiful when she said it. Ive
been meaning to talk to her, anyway. They gave
each other age-group looks. . . . Mrs. Flowers
said, without turning her head, to me, I hear
youre doing very good schoolwork, Marguerite,
but that its all written. The teachers report
that they have trouble getting you to talk in
class.
5. What motivation might Mrs. Flowers have for
talking to Marguerite?
She might want to help Marguerite reach her full
potential.
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Practice
She smiled that slow dragging smile, Thank you,
Mrs. Henderson. Id prefer Marguerite, though.
My name was beautiful when she said it. Ive
been meaning to talk to her, anyway. They gave
each other age-group looks. . . . Mrs. Flowers
said, without turning her head, to me, I hear
youre doing very good schoolwork, Marguerite,
but that its all written. The teachers report
that they have trouble getting you to talk in
class.
6. Which sentences provide clues to Mrs.
Flowerss motivation?
The boldface text provides clues to Mrs. Flowers
motivation.
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Practice
Choose a character from a story or novel you have
read recently, and fill in a chart like the one
below.
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Elements of Literature Characters
The End