Characterization+Notes

CHARACTERIZATION: The act of representing a character in writing by describing actions, gestures, physical appearances, dialogue, and thoughts. Essentially, it is the humanization of literary characters. **Ways to Know a Character:**
 * **Appearance**
 * how the character looks
 * how the character dresses


 * **Thoughts and conversation**
 * what the character says, thinks, or feels
 * what others in the story say or think about the character


 * ** Actions **
 * what the character does
 * what the character chooses //not// to do
 * what others in the story do to the main character


 * CHARACTER TYPES: **
 * Protagonist:  the main character or lead figure in a literary work. Generally, the reader is rooting for this person to succeed.
 * Antagonist:  The person, thing, of force creating conflict in the life of the protagonist.
 * Round:  A character who is fully developed and well-rounded. This character has many different personality traits- usually both good and bad.
 * Flat:  A character who is one-dimensional and can be described using only one or two words.
 * Static:  A character who goes through very little, if any, internal change, growth, or development.
 * Dynamic:  A character who changes throughout the course of the novel. Usually, dynamic characters change and develop for the better.
 * Foils: <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;"> Two characters who are so opposite of one another that they bring out each other's character traits.


 * Readers who want to understand //character// can ask: **
 * Are the characters believable? Have you ever felt like this character, or have you known anyone who felt like this character? What about the character seemed real and true?
 * Is each character’s behavior consistent with what we know about him or her? Does the behavior remain consistent throughout the book? Is the change that occurs in the character (reasonable)?
 * Does the character’s behavior show that the character is a unique individual (or is the behavior stereotypical)?
 * Do you identify with the character? How would you have reacted if you were the character?
 * Does the character change or learn as the story progresses? Does the character reach a new understanding about the situation or about life?
 * Is the character memorable? Will you remember this character in a month?

Information taken from: http://www.iowa-city.k12.ia.us/library/Curriculum/Lit/LitElements/Character.htm