Character Traits and Motivations

Mr. SolonEnglish IAugust 30, 2011Character Traits and MotivationsJournal: 15 June 2010Write 5 sentences for the following:(Due in 5 minutes)What motivates you? Why are you the person you are?Today's Class Objective: You will be able to analyze what motivates a characters actions by making inferences.

2Character TraitsCharacter traits are the physical and emotional descriptions of a character in a story. Why does this matter?Think about itWe use character traits in real life! Think about the process of electing someone to office.A voter needs to learn as much as possible about a candidate as a person, not just their experience and positions on issues.You may judge candidates by what they look like, what people say about them, or what they say.In real lifeWe have to make guesses about people sometimes.We have to do the same thing with fiction, but we call them inferences. Just like in real life, it is more revealing to observe how a person acts than to simply rely on what they say.Physical Appearance Descriptions of a characters looks, clothing, body language, and facial expressions.What can you learn about a character based on the clothes he or she wears?If the narrator says that a character is gorgeous, what other ideas might you have about this character?What if the character is described as plain?Try it Make some inferences!

Try it Make some inferences!

Speech, Thoughts, and Actions Presentation of a characters speech patterns, habits, talents, opinions, and interactions with others.What conclusions can you draw about a character based on the way he or she talks?What conclusions can you draw based on his or her opinions?What conclusions can you draw based on how the character treats others?Character Motivations Motivations are the reasons behind an action.To find a characters motivation you must look at details in the story. The narrators direct comments about a characters motivation A characters actions, thoughts, or values Your understanding of the emotions that drive human behaviorThink, Pair Share1) What motivates people to be politicians?2) What motivates people to be famous?3) What motivates people to work out?One notecard, write responses then pass.11Today's AssessmentComplete under your journal entry as soon as you're done reading A Petrifying Quest1) What was King Acrisius' motivation for imprisoning his own daughter?2) Why did King Acrisius send Danae and her son, Perseus, away?3) How does Perseus' motivation lead to him going to Medusa?4) Has Perseus' actions motivated your actions? What did you learn?12