CREATING CHARACTERS

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CREATING CHARACTERS
Creating characterstelling what human beings are
likeis the whole point of writing
stories. The techniques the writers use to
develop a character is called Characterization
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Character Development
Writers build characters by revealing
appearance
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Keep still, you little devil, or Ill cut your
throat! A fearful man, all in coarse grey, with
a great iron on his leg. A man with no hat, and
with broken shoes, and with an old rag tied round
his head. A man who had been soaked in water, and
smothered in mud, and lamed by stones, and cut by
flints . . . who limped, and shivered, and
glared and growled and whose teeth chattered in
his head as he seized me by the chin. from Great
Expectations by Charles Dickens
Which methods of character development are being
used?
What do you think of the man based on this
excerpt?
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Character Development
Quick Check
Which methods of character development are being
used?
Keep still, you little devil, or Ill cut your
throat! A fearful man, all in coarse grey, with
a great iron on his leg. A man with no hat, and
with broken shoes, and with an old rag tied round
his head. A man who had been soaked in water, and
smothered in mud, and lamed by stones, and cut by
flints . . . who limped, and shivered, and
glared and growled and whose teeth chattered in
his head as he seized me by the chin. from Great
Expectations by Charles Dickens
Speech
Description
Actions
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Quick Check
What do you think of the man based on this
excerpt?
Keep still, you little devil, or Ill cut your
throat! A fearful man, all in coarse grey, with
a great iron on his leg. A man with no hat, and
with broken shoes, and with an old rag tied round
his head. A man who had been soaked in water, and
smothered in mud, and lamed by stones, and cut by
flints . . . who limped, and shivered, and
glared and growled and whose teeth chattered in
his head as he seized me by the chin. from Great
Expectations by Charles Dickens
Hes dangerous and desperate. He seems to be an
escaped prisoner on the run.
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First Person Narrators

• 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.
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Dialogue

• can reveal a lot about characters and their
  relationships with each other.

Pay Attention to

• what characters say and dont say

• how characters respond to each other

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Appearance
Pay attention to language the writer uses to
describe the characters looks, clothes, and
demeanor.
The cold within him froze his old features,
nipped his pointed nose, shriveled his cheek,
stiffened his gait made his eyes red, 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 contribute to this impression?

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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.
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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

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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

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Direct CharacterizationWriters 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 CharacterizationWriters show us
characters (through speech, appearance, private
thoughts, other characters reactions, and
actions) but allow us to decide what characters
are like.
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Direct and Indirect Characterization
Is this an example of direct or indirect
characterization?
My sister, Mrs. Joe, with black hair and eyes,
had such a prevailing redness of skin that I
sometimes used to wonder whether it was possible
she washed herself with a nutmeg-grater instead
of soap. She was tall and bony, and almost always
wore a coarse apron, fastened over her figure
behind with two loops, and having a square
impregnable bib in front, that was stuck full of
pins and needles. from Great Expectations by
Charles Dickens
What kind of person do you think this character
is?
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Direct and Indirect Characterization
Is this an example of direct or indirect
characterization?
My sister, Mrs. Joe, with black hair and eyes,
had such a prevailing redness of skin that I
sometimes used to wonder whether it was possible
she washed herself with a nutmeg-grater instead
of soap. She was tall and bony, and almost always
wore a coarse apron, fastened over her figure
behind with two loops, and having a square
impregnable bib in front, that was stuck full of
pins and needles. from Great Expectations by
Charles Dickens
Indirect. The writer is describing the
characters appearance.
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What Is a Symbol?
A symbol is an ordinary object, event, person, or
animal to which we have attached a special
meaning.
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Where Do We Get Symbols?

• Public Symbols
• have been inherited, or handed down over time

• are widely known

• show up in art and literature

Note
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Where Do We Get Symbols?
What does each of these symbols stand for? Why do
you think they have taken on the meanings they
have?
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Where Do We Get Symbols?

• Invented symbols
• come about when writers make a character, object,
  or event stand for some human concern

• sometimes become well known and gain the status
  of public symbol

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Symbols in Literature

• Writers use symbols to
• suggest layers of meaning that a simple, literal
  statement could never convey

• speak more powerfully to the readers emotions
  and imagination

Side Note Different cultures may attach different
meanings to some symbols.

• make their stories rich and memorable

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Symbols in Secret life of bees
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Symbols In Peace Like a River
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Symbolic nature in names

• In PLR
• Jeremiah
• Reuben
• Lands
• Davy
• Roxanna

• In SLB
• Monthshoroscopes
• Lily

Names can symbolize biblical characters,
emotions, nature, specific traits tied to
horoscopes and astrology, abstract ideas, etc.
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We will look at theme and motifs tomorrowThe End