The document provides information about character types and characterization in fiction writing. It defines protagonist, antagonist, round and flat characters, stock characters, static and dynamic characters. It also describes direct and indirect characterization and ways authors reveal a character's personality through physical description, thoughts, speech, actions, and comments from other characters or narrator. The document includes examples from novels and asks readers to analyze characters from a short story by Roald Dahl.

1. •COMPLETE THE 21
QUESTIONS IN YOUR
NOTES SECTION – if
done, read silently.

2. Warm Up – in your notebook section
•Define the word character. What makes someone a
character?
• Give some examples of how author’s create a
character.
•Describe a character from a movie, game, tv show,
book, etc. in as much detail as you can. AT LEAST 4
SENTENCES with vivid adjectives.
•After you complete your Warm Up, begin your SSR
(Silent Sustained Reading) of your independent
novel.

3. Types of Characters
•Protagonist – The protagonist is a character
in a work of fiction whose intentions are the
primary focus of a story.

4. Types of Characters
•Antagonist – The antagonist is a character
(or sometimes an institution) against whom
the protagonist(s) must fight.

5. Types of Characters
•Round Character – Round characters are major
characters in a work of fiction who encounter
conflict and are changed by it. Round characters
tend to be more fully developed and described
than flat characters.

6. Types of Characters
• Flat character – Flat characters are minor
characters in a work of fiction who do not tend to
undergo substantial emotional change or growth.

7. Types of Characters
• Stock characters – A stock character is a fictional
character that relies heavily on cultural types or
stereotypes for its personality, manner of speech,
and other characteristics. Stock characters are
instantly recognizable to members of a given
culture.

8. Types of Characters
• Static Character – Static do not undergo
substantial emotional change or growth, remaining
essentially the same in the end as he or she was at
the beginning.

9. Types of characters
•Dynamic Character – A dynamic character is one
who undergoes an important change in the course
of the story. The changes are not changes in
circumstance, but changes in some sense within
the character – changes in insight or
understanding, changes in beliefs or values, etc.

10. Characterization
• Characterization is the way in which a writer
reveals the personality of a character.
• There are two types of characterization:
• Direct Characterization
• Indirect Characterization

11. Characterization
• The author shows/tells the reader
things that reveal the personality of
the character.
“I reach her just as she is about to mount the
steps. With one sweep of my arm, I push her
behind me. “I volunteer!” I gasp. “I
volunteer as tribute!””(22)
“He’s good-looking, he’s strong enough to handle the work in
the mines, and he can hunt. You can tell by the way the girls
whisper about him when he walks by in school that they want
him” (10).

12. How do we understand a character?
•Physical appearance
•Includes height, skin, hair and eye color,
short/tall, skinny/fat, wear glasses?, how
he/she walks/stands, anything physical about
the character.

13. Character’s thoughts, actions, and
speech
• Speech- What does the character say? How does the character
speak? Is the character serious? Sarcastic? Shy? Obnoxious?
Ignorant?
• Example: “Hey, we can have lots of fun at camp this summer! I
love being outside!”
• - shows us the character is upbeat and happy.
• Thoughts- What is revealed through the character’s thoughts
and feelings?
• Example: I wish it would stop raining. I am tired of sitting
inside!
• - shows us the character is not happy about the situation.

14. •Actions:
• Example: The girl rode the lawn mower through the
house and into the garage
• - shows us the girl is not concerned with rules or
safety.
• Example: The little girl left the game with slumped
shoulders and a frown on her face
• - shows us the little girl is not enjoying herself and is
upset.

15. •What other’s say or do in reaction
to the character
•Example: The boy glared at his sister as she ate
his dessert.
•This shows us that the character is upset about
his sister’s behavior and inability to think of
others

16. •The narrator’s comments
•Can the character be trusted?
• Complete the literary analysis check on page 8 of your textbook.
Make sure to write this in your notes section.

18. Reading excerpt from Roald Dahl’s “Lamb to the
Slaughter” and analyzing Mary
1. Find words that describe Mary’s
character.
2. Prepare a spider diagram of Mary’s
character – try to find as many
adjectives as you can to describe her.
3. Look at the title – try to predict what
will happen in the story.
4. Contrast Patrick with Mary. Describe
the husband – for each adjective find
evidence from the story to back up
your ideas.
5. How are they opposites. Write a
couple of sentences using examples
from the text.

19. “Hullo darling”
“Tired darling?”
“I’ll get it!”
Mary shows love and concern for her
husband and his well being. She doesn’t
want him to work at home and will serve
him and let him order her around.
“she thought that each minute gone by made it
nearer the time when he would come”
“she loved to luxuriate in the presence of this
man”
“So, I’ve killed him”
Mary is so in love with her husband that
she appears obsessed with him. All of her
thoughts are about him. She cannot
imagine a life without him so she kills him
when he threatens to leave.
“sixth month with child”
“smiling air about her”
“placid look”
Mary is happy in her marriage
and about her pregnancy. She is
peaceful as she waits for her
husband.
“he didn’t want to speak much until the
first drink is finished”
“drained it in one swallow”
“No” “Sit down” “I’ll give you money”
The husband is bossy and controlling,
ordering Mary around. He also doesn’t
seem to want to interact with her or talk
to her. He is distant and withdrawn right
before he decides to tell her he is leaving.
“she took his coat and hung it in the closet”
“she moved uneasily in her chair…watching his
face”
“She began to get frightened”
“Mary simply walked up behind him and without
any pause swung the big frozen leg of lamb…”
Mary is a devoted and subservient wife, doing
chores for her working husband. When he tells
her is leaving, she breaks mentally, becomes
frightened of life without him, and murders him
in cold blood.