Writing about complex characters

Goal: Applying direct and indirect characterization together with setting to know characters better.

Agenda:
Read
Writing about a character

Let's remember some things:
Do you remember the STEAL chart you made about the character in your group novel? You used it to look closely at the character's speech, thoughts, effect on others, actions, and looks.

Do you remember looking at setting and then finding a setting in your book that told you something about one of the characters. (Together we looked at what the house in Great Expectations told us about the lady who lived there.)

You may even remember that we talked about the difference between direct and indirect characterization.

Direct and Indirect Characterization: 
Authors use direct and indirect characterization to tell readers about the character's in the book.

Consider your group novel. Where does the author tell you about characters?
This could include information about:
-appearance
-personality
-motivation
-their setting

Writing: 
Open your English Journal
Use this paragraph frame to write about direct and indirect characterization in your group novel.

The author of (book title), (author name), shows that  (character name) is  (character description)  using both direct and indirect characterization. For example on page (#) (the author) writes that (evidence from the text). Which shows that.... This is an example of direct characterization. The reader also knows that (character name) is (character description) because (author) writes...(text evidence)...(page #). In this case the author is using indirect characterization because.... Through this evidence we can see that (character name) is....

Example:

The author of Lord of the Flies, William Golding, shows that Ralph is fair haired, agile and selfish using both direct and indirect characterization. For example on page 7 Golding writes that, "The boy with the fair hair lowered himself down the last few feet of rock..." Which states directly that Ralph has blonde hair and he is able to climb rocks. The reader can see that Ralph is selfish because he leaves Piggy behind when they first arrive on the island. "Ralph disentangled himself cautiously and stole away through the branches. In a few seconds the fat boys grunts were behind him and he was hurrying toward the screen that still lay between him and the lagoon." (9) This is an example of indirect characterization because the reader must interpret Ralph's actions and decide for themselves what leaving Piggy behind says about Ralph. Through direct evidence we know that Ralph has light hair and is athletic, and through indirect evidence we can surmise that he is selfish, or at least uninterested in the struggles of others.

Reminders: 
Keep reading according to your group's reading schedule. 
Revise and request a regrade on your memoir or visual memoir.