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Welcome to Part 2 of our Characters topic! This Creative Writing Elements series has been such an adventure and I want to personally thank you all for following along in this process. I hope that you have enjoyed reading these articles as much as I have enjoyed writing them!
In this post we will be looking at how authors develop their characters throughout the course of a story. They use two prominent types of characterization: direct and indirect.
Direct Characterization
Direct characterization deals with statements. Lesha Myers explains in her book Windows to the World: An Introduction to Literary Analysis that “in direct characterization, a narrator might tell us something about the character, describe the character’s appearance,
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All the memories he shared with his family. These thoughts dredged up feelings that stung his heart and brought tears to his eyes. He sat there on that very roof and wept.
I use a lot of direct characterization in my creative writing because I like to tell my readers exactly what a character is doing. This comes at the expense of allowing readers to assume things, but I personally enjoy reading details such as ‘his brown eyes smoldered,’ or ‘her kinky curls danced playfully in the autumn breeze. ' This causes me to envision the characters more.
Indirect Characterization
Contrasting with direct characterization, indirect characterization relies heavily on inference and requires us to use our current knowledge combined with what the author tells us to draw a suitable conclusion. According to Myers, “writers might ask us to make inferences based on…details in four methods of indirect characterization: aspects of the setting that reflect the influence of the character, the character’s actions and mannerisms, the reaction of others to the character, [and] the character’s speech,” (Myers,
looking to destroy me and everything I care about. The weight I carry beside me is more than average. There is the darkness slowly coming to consume me into to a life of hell. I have found out that revenge is a satisfying feeling. People very often do things they are not happy with, but I have done something so dark and devious and I have gotten away with it without a trace. Every day I sit here it haunts me, the scarring screams of the man they once called Fortunato. Today of all days especially I have devoted so much thought to my past with the ghost of a man I vowed to avenge. All the events every single one leading up to me trapping Fortunato down in the cold disgusting cellar are on replay in my head, my father never in my life loving me his own son, the people at my school never wanting to except me but the day Fortunato came into my life stealing all the attention and popularity I never had doomed
description and characterization he creates an accurate portrait of the many intense events surrounding such a tragic story.
Characterization is generally defined as a graphic description of a character. It could be vague or straight to the point. For example, in page 4 of Butter, a scene is described where Butter refrains from snacking any further, offended by a girl on T.V expressing her opinion on charging obese people more for taking up more than one seat on an airplane. “Can’t a guy enjoy a little sandwich in his own living
Characterization is used to help along the point giving us a better understanding of the main character. In the start of on the sidewalk bleeding the author uses characterization to flesh out Andy and give some of his aspirations. One of those aspirations is his girlfriend Laura he believes that “someday he would marry laura someday” (Hunter 2). First off this quote gives one of the symbols of the story. Second, this shows that Andy wants to have a life past the royals. The author also uses characterization to describe the nature of labels. A boy and a girl couple stumble upon Andy
Characterization is an essential component in a short story. Characterization is based on two things , indirect or direct characterization. Indirect Characterization shows the audience what the personality of the character is , and Direct tells the audience what the personality of the character is. Authors make characters be presented by means of description,through their actions,speech,thoughts and interactions with other characters. Authors frequently apply characterization to their stories to develop a theme or moral to the stories. Practically every novel that was made in the history of literature has a theme.This means any kind of short story like The Whistle by Anne Estevis and Marigold by Eugenia Collier has characterization.
Characterization is the process by which the author reveal the personality of a character. Characterization can be created in two different ways: direct and indirect characterization. Direct characterization is when the author tells the readers what a character is like. Indirect characterization is based on clues from the story, the reader decides what a character is like. Indirect characterization can come from what the character says/does, what the character thinks, what others say about the character, and the character’s physical appearance.
There are many devices within the craft of writing that writers use to help them convey their messages. Among these include what characters they use and how they act, what setting they put their characters in, what types of symbols are use, and many others. They can go even farther into each section with how much information they give us, or how much they make us fill in with our own interpretation or imagination. The writer's choice of characters is a main part of the story, for it is these people that "tell" the story and which we relate it to. The characters' descriptions and their actions are what we picture in our minds. Although they need the other devices to complete the story, the authors use of characters can be what makes or breaks the story. There are many different types of characters that writers can use to help them distribute their message. Robert Frost uses nature as a character in his poem "Once By The Pacific," while Shirley Jackson uses the members of a small town to tell her story in The Lottery. While each is different, they both serve their intended purpose - to tell us a story.
One of the ways, characters are disclosed in fiction is by the thoughts and words of other characters. By examining the speech of these fictional individuals, one is able to gather a clear understanding of another character. This also is a wonderful way to compare and contrast characters. Two perfect examples of this are Phoenix in A Worn Path and Dee in Everyday Use. Throughout both stories it becomes apparent, the feelings towards both of these individuals. In the end, sometimes characters are more similar than one can ever realize until they are placed next to each other.
Raymond Carver, the author of “Cathedral” uses characterization to describe the main character, the narrator’s development in the story upon meeting a blind man. This blind man, Robert, unintentionally changes the narrator’s perspective on life and on himself. The narrator first starts off as an arrogant, close minded individual who later opens his mind and is introduced to new perspectives of life. The most important element used in this writing is characterization because it makes the reader change perspectives on how the narrator develops throughout the story and deeply goes into a lot of detail to support the narrator’s development. good thesis, but the wording is a little bland and lifeless
In the book Mice and Men, John Steinbeck uses both Direct Characterization, and Indirect Characterization, to describe the characters. Direct characterization is when you tell the reader the characteristics of the character directly. For example, “She is tall and skinny.”On the other hand, Indirect characterization is when you give a description of the character, without directly saying what the character is like, through speech and actions. Direct And Indirect Characterization can easily be compared and contrasted in many ways.
Authors examine many different sources to become better writers. By drawing on the writings of another author one can enhance their current writing style and also learn new ways to write. The plot, conflict throughout the story and the relationships between the characters are some examples of the parts of a story that an author can look at.
The traits of the characters are taken off of what Lane is thinking, how he perceives the situation. Therefore the story uses indirect characterization. However, both direct and indirect characterization used to describe Sheri. She is a person who has a strong faith from what Lane states about her, but at the end when she finally talks, she shows that she's smart by knowing what Lanes is thinking and responsible by offering to take care of the baby by herself .“She will carry this, and have it; she has to.”(154).
However, there are similarities and differences as to how characterization is used. One similarity that they share is the fact that in both stories, characterization is mainly shown through narration. Indeed in both cases character traits can be extracted through speech, but they are more apparent in the narration. On the other hand, one difference is that in Rashomon, there was only a single person that was being characterized to prove the theme, and this character was less of a one-dimensional figure than the characters in The Martyr, whereas in that story, a whole community was being characterized through their actions, as well as through the introspection of one member of the community.
The author uses one main character, at most, two; only the protagonist and the antagonist exist as major characters. “Rip Van Winkle”, Washington Irving uses one main character to play both the role of the protagonist and the antagonist. In paragraph three lines, six and seven, the reader meets the protagonist. “…a simple good-natured fellow of the name of Rip Van Winkle” In paragraphs five and nine, lines one and two, and one and four, respectively, the reader encounters the antagonist. “The great error in Rip’s composition was an insuperable aversion for all kinds of labor.” “…Rip would rather starve on a penny than work for a pound.” Even though, in both cases where the reader encounters Rip Van Winkle, Rip only counts as one main character. Characterization occurs when the author draws an overall picture of the characters. Characterization happens in two ways in literature, by description and personality. The author uses the words a story to describe a character or imply the appearance of the characters through the text of the story. Introducing the personality of the character to the reader in words give or describe the personality of the characters or the words used imply certain things about the character. The protagonist in “Rip Van Winkle” the reader first meets in paragraph three, lines seven and eight, “… a simple good-natured fellow of the name of Rip Van Winkle.
depictions of characters and details that capture the imagination. The plot of this novel is the