Mr. Solon English I August 30, 2011 Character Traits and
Motivations
Slide 2
Journal: 15 June 2010 Write 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.
Slide 3
Character Traits Character traits are the physical and
emotional descriptions of a character in a story. Why does this
matter?
Slide 4
Think about it We 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.
Slide 5
In real life We 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.
Slide 6
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?
Slide 7
Try it Make some inferences!
Slide 8
Slide 9
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?
Slide 10
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 behavior
Slide 11
Think, Pair Share 1) What motivates people to be politicians?
2) What motivates people to be famous? 3) What motivates people to
work out?
Slide 12
Today's Assessment Complete under your journal entry as soon as
you're done reading A Petrifying Quest 1) 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?
