Characterization is the process by which authors convey information about characters through direct and indirect methods. Direct characterization involves the author directly stating a character's traits using adjectives, while indirect characterization reveals traits through a character's thoughts, words, actions, and how others respond to them using verbs. Together, direct and indirect characterization help readers understand a character's personality and develop inferences about them.

1. CharacterCharacterizationization
Bringing characters to life

2. Characterization
Definition: the process of conveying
information about characters in fiction
– their character traits.

3. What can readers learn through
characterization?

4. Character Traits
• When you first meet a real person or a character
in a book, you form judgments about that person.
• You might say something about the person such as
“He’s nice,” or “She’s friendly.”
• “Nice” and “friendly” are examples of character
traits. They are words that we use to describe a
person’s “character” or personality.

5. Analyzing Character Traits
• We try to figure out what a character in a
book is like by paying attention to the clues
the author gives us.
• This is called “making inferences.”
• The writer can let us know what a character
is like through direct and indirect
characterization.

6. How are character traits presented?

7. Two Types of Characterization
Direct Characterization
• the writer makes direct
statements about a
character’s personality and
tells what the character is
like.
• Think adjectives.
Indirect Characterization
• the writer reveals information
about a character and his/her
personality through that
character’s thoughts, words,
and actions, along with how
other characters respond to
that character, including what
they think and say about
him/her.
• Think verbs.

8. Examples of Characterization
Direct Characterization
• Gary is a nice and caring person.
• Gary can sometimes be very
mean or rude.
Indirect Characterization
• Gary watched his little brother
for two hours while their mother
was ill, taking care of his every
need. He did this without being
asked and he did not ask for
anything in return.
• “The next thing I know, Gary was
tearing up my rose garden,” said
Beatrice his elderly grandmother
as she gave her statement to the
police. She was still badly shaken
after the attack.

9. Direct Characterization
Narrator explicitly describes a character.
-clearly stated
Ex: Kat was popular but snobby.
Tim was a nice, honest boy.

10. Indirect Characterization
• In indirect characterization the writer
shows you what the character is like by
revealing:
– appearance
– actions
– words
– thoughts & feelings and the
– reactions of other characters.

11. Indirect Characterization
Character traits reveled through actions
Indirect characterizations are implicit.
-not clearly stated, implied.
Ex: Jess left the pizza crust on her floor.
Tim helped old Ms. Jones with her bags.

12. What kind of person is Liz?What kind of person is Liz?
My friend Liz is a true best friend. She always
supports me in everything I want to do. When I
wanted to go up North, she said she thought it
would be a great experience and that it would help
me develop my sense of adventure.
Liz is not only a great supporter. She also trusts me
to give her my honest opinion and to say what I
feel. When she was upset with her sister one time,
she asked what I thought about it and I said she
should wait and then she would find out the real
reason why her sister was mad at her. And it
happened that way. She knew she could trust me.