Lesson 9 — Activity 2: Presenting Characters

Now that you know a bit more about the different types of characters authors might include in their stories, you will look at how authors present their characters to their readers.

Usually we learn about the characters in a story through one of two methods a writer may use. In fact, we may find that an author uses both of the following methods to present characters to us, depending on the story: direct characterization and indirect characterization.

Direct characterization is the way an author tells us directly or specifically about a character by describing the character to us. We know exactly what the character is like through the author's description. The author may tell us exactly what the character looks like or what the character thinks.

For example, this description of Gale found on page 10 of The Hunger Games:

"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."

For example, this description of Katniss found on page 10 of The Hunger Games:

"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!'"

Indirect characterization refers to the way we learn about a character through the things he or she says and does as well as the way other characters react to or talk about the character. With indirect presentation, we have to think more about the character's words and behaviour to understand why the character does the things he or she does.

The more we think about the characters in the stories we read or the shows we watch, the easier it is for us to understand the plot of the story. If the author presents a round character to us, we can understand why the character acts a certain way. If we learn about the character's attitudes and values in a story, we can make sense of the character's behaviour and understand why a character may change over the course of a story.

Click on the Play button below to view a video that explains the difference between direct and indirect characterization.