character power point

8/2/2019 Character Power Point

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Unit 1: Fiction



<skip intro>

Fiction is like a spider’sweb, attached ever so lightlyperhaps, but still attached to

life at all four corners. — Virginia Woolf



What is fiction?

• Fiction is a genre, or category of literary

composition, that includes any work of prose

that tells an invented or imaginary story.



What are the two main

forms of fiction?

• The two main forms of fiction are the short

story and the novel.



What are your favorite

types of fiction?

• Realistic fiction

• Mystery

• Science fiction• Romance

• Historical fiction

• Horror• Fantasy

• Sports fiction



What are the purposes of

fiction?

• To entertain readers

• To enlighten readers by sharing the human

experience

• To provide readers with an escape from reality

• To teach readers empathy

• To help readers explore unknown worlds



What are the five elements

of fiction?

• Plot

• Point of view

• Characters• Setting

• Theme



Characters

• Characters are individuals who take part in the

action of a literary work.



What do you think makes fictional characters

seem like real people and not simply caricatures?

What makes a character memorable?

I have tried every device I know to breathe

life into my characters, for there is little in

fiction more rewarding than to see real

people interact on a page.

— James A. Michener



Major Characters

• The characters around whom a story is

centered are the major characters.

• Major characters

– play important roles in the plot of a story

– are multi-faceted or complex

characters

– undergo some type of change

during a story



Major Characters

• Major characters can be classified as

protagonists or antagonists.

– The protagonist has the central role in a story.

– The antagonist works against the protagonist.

• This friction, or tension, creates a story’s conflict.

– The protagonist and antagonist are complex

characters. – Like real people, each has his or her own strengths

and weaknesses.



The Protagonist

• The protagonist

– is motivated by a goal, aspiration, or desire

– uses his or her strengths (such as courage,

cleverness, wisdom, or kindness) to overcome

conflicts or obstacles that stand in the way of

this goal



The Antagonist

• The antagonist

– is motivated by a goal, aspiration, or desire

• often this goal is to frustrate, challenge, hurt, or destroy

the protagonist

– uses his or her strengths (such as cleverness,

determination, or knowledge of the protagonist’s

weaknesses) to thwart the actions of the

protagonist



Minor Characters

• The supporting characters who do not play a

major role in the plot of a story are the minor

characters.

• Minor characters

– lack complexity

– remain unchanged throughout a story

– give the major characters points of interaction

– provide insight into the major characters by

highlighting or contrasting the qualities of the

major characters



Round and Flat Characters

• In addition to being classified as major or

minor, characters can also be classified as

round or flat.



Round Characters

• Round characters

– tend to be the major characters in a story

– show a wide range of emotions and can be

unpredictable

– have their own desires and motivations

– are dynamic (undergo a change during a story)



Flat Characters

• Flat characters

– tend to be the minor characters in a story

– are often stock characters or stereotypes whose

emotions and behavior are predictable

– are valuable to understanding the desires and

motivations of the major or round characters

– are static (remain the same throughout a story)



Characterization

• The act of creating or describing a character is

called characterization.

• Writers use three major techniques to form a

character:

– Showing what the character says, does, or thinks

– Showing what other characters say or think about

the character

– Describing the physical features, dress, and

personality of the character



Indirect Characterization

• The first two techniques — showing what

characters say, do, or think and showing what

other characters say or think about them — are

examples of indirect characterization.

• In indirect characterization, the writer shows

what a character is like.



• In this excerpt, readers get to know Granny

Cain by what she says and does.

―Mornin, ladies,‖ a new man said. … ―We’re filmin for thecounty,‖ he said with a smile. ―Mind if we shoot a bit around

here?‖

―I do indeed,‖ said Granny with no smile. … ―Suppose you

just shut that machine off,‖ said Granny real low through her teeth,

and took a step down off the porch and then another.

―Now, aunty,‖ Camera said, pointing the thing straight at her.

―Your mama and I are not related.‖

—from ―Blues Ain’t No Mockin Bird,‖

by Toni Cade Bambara

Indirect Characterization



Direct Characterization

• The third technique — describing the physical

features, dress, and personalities of the

characters — is an example of direct

characterization.

• In direct characterization, the writer tells what

characters are like.



Direct Characterization

• In this excerpt, the author tells readers what

General Zaroff looks like.

Rainsford’s first impression was that the man was singularly

handsome; his second was that there was an original, almost bizarre quality about the general’s face. He was a tall man past

middle age, for his hair was a vivid white; but his thick eyebrows

and pointed military mustache were as black as the night from

which Rainsford had come. His eyes, too, were black and very

bright. He had high cheek bones, a sharp-cut nose, a spare, dark face, the face of a man used to giving orders, the face of an

aristocrat.

—from ―The Most Dangerous Game,‖

by Richard Connell



Motives

Characterization is the presentation of

the nature of the people in a story.

Characterization is really the

presentation of motives. We understand

a person if we understand what makes

him act the way he does.

— Ayn Rand



Motives

• To understand characterization, readers need torecognize motives.

• Motives are the forces that drive a character to

think, feel, or behave in a certain way.• Characters can be motivated by

– the desire for accolades

– the need for revenge – the burden of guilt or shame

– the hope of redemption



Dialogue

• One method of indirect characterization thatallows readers to understand characters is

dialogue, or what the characters say.

• Dialogue can provide insights aboutcharacters, such as culture, level of education,

socio-economic status, social skills, and

personality.• Dialogue can also inform readers of the ―who,

what, and where‖ of the situation taking place.



Dialect

• When analyzing the dialogue of characters,

readers should pay attention to the writer’s use

of dialect.

• Dialect is a version of a language spoken by

the people of a particular place, time, or social

group.

• For example, when Mrs. Jones in ―Thank You,

M’am‖ says, ―You a lie!‖ she is speaking in

dialect.



What might be a writer’s purpose in using

dialect?

What stories have you read in this unit that

contain dialect?



• The Methods of Characterization Chart on the

next slide was completed for old Mrs. Pan, a

major character in ―The Good Deed.‖

• After you view this chart, choose a character

from this unit and complete your own Methods

of Characterization Chart using the blank

template on the subsequent slide.

Methods of

Characterization



The Character (Draw apicture of your character.)

What the Character SaysWhat the Character

Thinks

What the Writer Says

About the Physical

Features, Dress, and

Personality of the

Character

What the

Character Does

What Other Characters Say or Think About the Character

She feels lonely

and useless in

America.

She is an old, tiny

woman who wears a

lavender silk coat.

Old Mrs. Pan

"It is the duty of the

parents to arrange the

marriage of thechildren."

She bribes her

grandson into

taking her to the

china shop.

Her son worries about his mother adjusting to America.



Complete the chart for a character from this unit.

The Character (Draw a

picture of your character.)

What the Character SaysWhat the Character

Thinks

What the Writer Says

About the Physical

Features, Dress, andPersonality of the

Character

What the

Character Does

What Other Characters Say or Think About the Character



SUMMARY:

Characterization• To reveal the essence of a character to readers,

authors use several methods:

– What a character says (dialogue)

– What a character does (actions)

– What a character thinks (opinions, feelings)

– What other characters say or think about the

character (opinions, observations)

– What the writer says about the character (physical

features, dress, and personality of the character)

character power point

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