Characterization Objective 1 Methods of Characterization Objectives By

Characterization Objective 1: Methods of Characterization

Objectives • By the time you finish taking notes on this presentation, you should understand definitions of the following terms: ▫ Direct characterization ▫ Indirect characterization • You should also be able to identify the five most common methods of indirect characterization.

Characterization • In general, characterization is the process by which a writer reveals the personality traits of a character in a text. • There are two main types of characterization: ▫ Direct Characterization ▫ Indirect Characterization

Direct Characterization • The most basic form of characterization • Direct characterization means that the author directly tells the audience what a character is like by using description adjectives, phrases, and epithets.

Example of Direct Characterization “The patient boy and the quiet girl were well-mannered and never disobeyed their mother. ” The author here chooses to directly tell the audience what these characters are like. The boy is patient, the girl is quiet, and both of them are obeisant and well-mannered.

Indirect Characterization • Conversely, with indirect characterization, the author reveals aspects by showing the reader what the character is like, and leaving it up to the reader to draw inferences about the character. • You can think of the difference as “show vs tell” ▫ Direct characterization tells ▫ Indirect characterization shows

Methods of Indirect Characterization • In general, indirect characterization can be created in five different ways: ▫ Through a character’s dialogue ▫ Through a character’s behavior and actions ▫ Through a character’s inner thoughts and feelings ▫ Through a character’s physical appearance ▫ Through the attitudes and reactions of others toward the character

Methods of Indirect Characterization • To explore in more depth what these five methods of characterization look like, we are going to look at some examples of indirect characterization in the novel The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood. • All examples will demonstrate some aspect of The Handmaid’s Tale’s protagonist, Offred’s, character. • The Handmaid’s Tale is a dystopian novel about an imagined future where the birth-rate has dropped due to pollution, and an extremist religious sect has taken over the United States. The few remaining fertile women are forced into the role of “Handmaid, ” which means they are used for procreation.

Characterization Through Dialogue The author reveals aspects of the character through the things he or she says to others. Example from The Handmaid’s Tale. In this scene, Offred speaks to another Handmaid, Ofglen: During these walks, [Ofglen] has never said anything that was not strictly orthodox, but then, neither have I. She may be a real believer, a Handmaid in more than name. I can’t take the risk. “The war is going well, ” she says. “Praise be, ” I reply. “We’ve been sent good weather. ” “Which I receive with joy. ” “They’ve defeated more of the rebels, since yesterday. ” “Praise be, ” I say. I don’t ask her how she knows. “What were they? ” “Baptists. They had a stronghold in the Blue Hills. They smoked them out. ” “Praise be. ”

Characterization Through Dialogue • Offred’s short, “orthodox” responses to what Ofglen says to her reveals that she is guarded and mistrustful. • She is worried that Ofglen is a spy who will turn her in if she reveals her true feelings, so she only repeats the phrase “Praise be. ”

Characterization Through Behaviors and Actions The author reveals aspects of the character through the things he or she does. Example from The Handmaid’s Tale. In this scene, Offred describes how she reacted when she was first given the room she currently lives in: So. I explored this room, not hastily, then, like a hotel room, wasting it. I didn’t want to do it all at once, I wanted to make it last. I divided the room into sections, in my head; I allowed myself one section a day. This one section I would example with the greatest minuteness: the unevenness of the plaster under the wallpaper, the scratches in the paint of the baseboard and the windowsill, under the top coat of paint, the stains on the mattresses, for I went so far as to lift the blankets and sheets from the bed, fold them back, a little at a time, so they could be replaced quickly if anyone came.

Characterization Through Behaviors and Actions • Offred’s decision to thoroughly examine her room demonstrates her desperation to have something that is hers and only hers. • It helps us see how much she has lost since she was forced to become a Handmaid.

Characterization Through Inner Thoughts and Feelings The author reveals aspects of the character through descriptions of the things he or she is thinking and feeling. Example from The Handmaid’s Tale. In this scene, Offred walks into the kitchen and thinks of what it reminds her of: I walk around to the back door, open it, go in, set my basket down on the kitchen table. The table has been scrubbed off, cleared of flour; today’s bread, freshly baked, is cooling on its rack. The kitchen smells of yeast, a nostalgic smell. It reminds me of other kitchens, kitchens that were mine. It reminds me of mothers; although my own mother did not make bread. It smells of me, in former times, when I was a mother. This is a treacherous smell, and I know I must shut it out.

Characterization Through Inner Thoughts and Feelings • As Offred thinks about the smell of bread, she reveals aspects of her former life: that she had a mother and she was a mother. • The fact that she thinks of these things demonstrates their importance to her and the impact of their loss. • The final line emphasizes just how cautious Offred has become, as a Handmaid – scared to even think things that are unorthodox.

Characterization Through Physical Description The author uses a character’s physical description to reveal aspects of his or her personality. Example from The Handmaid’s Tale: I am thirty-three years old. I have brown hair. I stand five seven without shoes. I have trouble remembering what I used to look like. I have viable ovaries. I have one more chance.

Characterization Through Physical Description • This is the only physical description of Offred we receive in the book. • The description is generic and does not stand out in any way – this helps emphasize how much she has been stripped of her identity and what makes her unique. • She says that she cannot even remember what she used to look like – this reveals how strongly Offred has been affected by her experience as a Handmaid.

Characterization Through Others The author reveals aspects of a character by describing how others think or feel about him or her. Example from The Handmaid’s Tale. In this scene, the wife of the man for whom Offred has been assigned to have a child encounters Offred: She’s looking at the tulips. Her cane is beside her, on the grass. Her profile is towards me, I can see that in the quick sideways look I take at her as I go past… She doesn’t turn her head. She doesn’t acknowledge my presence in any way, although she knows I’m there. I can tell she knows, it’s like a smell, her knowledge; something gone sour, like old milk.

Characterization Through Others • The wife’s attitude toward Offred reveals how isolated Offred is. • She has very few allies or friends in her house, and the woman of the household hates her and refuses to acknowledge her presence. • Offred’s discomfort and anxiety are exacerbated by the hostility of the wife towards her.