Assignment: 9/23: Characterization

ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS 10-A (H)
2021-09-15T01:53:44Z

Due: Sep 23, 2021 by 11:59pm

Here are today's PowerPoint slides. If you're absent, follow along at your own pace: Characterization-1.pptx

Today's lesson is on characterization.

What is it?

Characterization is the way in which authors convey information about their characters.

Why is it important?

In order to interest and move readers, characters need to seem real. Authors achieve this by providing details that make characters individual and particular. Good characterization gives readers a strong sense of characters' personalities and complexities; it makes characters vivid, alive and believable.

Two Types:

Direct Characterization: the author, narrator, or other characters tell the reader what a character is like ("George was cunning and greedy.")

Watch this clip from the move Mean Girls. (You might have watched this clip last year, but that’s OK. You can never watch Mean Girls too many times.)

What are some examples of direct characterization (when the characters are just telling us what the other characters are like)?

(There is also some indirect characterization toward the end of this movie clip, but we will get to that later)

Indirect Characterization: the author or narrator shows what a character is like by including examples of his or her actions, speech, or thoughts It is left to the reader to infer what the character is like from their actions, speech, or thoughts. ("On the crowded subway, George slipped his hand into the man's coat pocket and withdrew the wallet, undetected.").

S: Speech | What does the character say? How does the character speak?
T: Thoughts | What is revealed through the character's private thoughts and feelings?
E: Effects on others | What is revealed through the character's effect on other people? How do other characters feel or behave in reaction to the character?
A: Actions | What does the character do? How does the character behave?
L: Looks | What does the character look like? How does the character dress?

Watch this clip from the movie Forrest Gump. (Again, you might have watched this clip last year, but that’s OK – watch it again! )

See if you can identify each type of indirect characterization in STEAL (Speech, Thoughts, Effects on others, Actions, and Looks) and interpret what it tells us either about Forrest or about Jenny.

Follow along with the slides to look at the other examples from literature and photography and practice using characterization.

Individual Work:

Now try it in your personal narrative!

▪Think of an important character, or an important relationship between characters, that you would like to bring to life in your story.

▪Brainstorm adjectives you would use to describe the person (or the relationship), as well as details and sensory imagery that would bring the character to life.

▪Write: Use examples from your brainstorm to introduce this character / relationship.

Here are today's PowerPoint slides. If you're absent, follow along at your own pace: Characterization-1.pptx

Today's lesson is on characterization.

What is it?

Characterization is the way in which authors convey information about their characters.

Why is it important?

In order to interest and move readers, characters need to seem real. Authors achieve this by providing details that make characters individual and particular. Good characterization gives readers a strong sense of characters' personalities and complexities; it makes characters vivid, alive and believable.

Two Types:

Direct Characterization: the author, narrator, or other characters tell the reader what a character is like ("George was cunning and greedy.")

Watch this clip from the move Mean Girls. (You might have watched this clip last year, but that’s OK. You can never watch Mean Girls too many times.)

What are some examples of direct characterization (when the characters are just telling us what the other characters are like)?

(There is also some indirect characterization toward the end of this movie clip, but we will get to that later)

Indirect Characterization: the author or narrator shows what a character is like by including examples of his or her actions, speech, or thoughts It is left to the reader to infer what the character is like from their actions, speech, or thoughts. ("On the crowded subway, George slipped his hand into the man's coat pocket and withdrew the wallet, undetected.").

S: Speech | What does the character say? How does the character speak?
T: Thoughts | What is revealed through the character's private thoughts and feelings?
E: Effects on others | What is revealed through the character's effect on other people? How do other characters feel or behave in reaction to the character?
A: Actions | What does the character do? How does the character behave?
L: Looks | What does the character look like? How does the character dress?

Watch this clip from the movie Forrest Gump. (Again, you might have watched this clip last year, but that’s OK – watch it again! )

See if you can identify each type of indirect characterization in STEAL (Speech, Thoughts, Effects on others, Actions, and Looks) and interpret what it tells us either about Forrest or about Jenny.

Follow along with the slides to look at the other examples from literature and photography and practice using characterization.

Individual Work:

Now try it in your personal narrative!

▪Think of an important character, or an important relationship between characters, that you would like to bring to life in your story.

▪Brainstorm adjectives you would use to describe the person (or the relationship), as well as details and sensory imagery that would bring the character to life.

▪Write: Use examples from your brainstorm to introduce this character / relationship.