“Thank You M’am” pg 120• People in life and in fiction tend to show
their true character when they are in stressful situations. In this story, two characters have a tense encounter. The writer lets their actions and their words (or their silences) tell us about the kind of people they are – or could be.
Character – The Actors in the Story
• Character – An individual in a story, poem or play. Always has human traits, even if the character is an animal.
Characterization – Ways to develop characters
• Writers portray the personalities of characters through a variety of methods.– Direct Characterization – The author directly
describes the character’s traits or special qualities.
– “Bob is a very happy person.”
Indirect Characterization
• Indirect Characterization – The author indirectly describes the character’s traits or special qualities, through:– Appearance– Actions– Speech– Thoughts– How people respond to the character.
• With this method, a writer shows rather than tells the reader what the character is like.
Types of Characters• Flat Characters
• Round Characters
Flat• A flat character has no depth. Such a
character has one or two key personality traits and can be described in a single sentence.
Round• A round character is fleshed out. He or
she is more complex and have depth.
Flat and round characters are both used in literature.
“Thank You M’am” -Assignment
• Answer questions 1,2,4,5, and 6.
• Write a newspaper article about the events from the story. – Must be at least one page long.– Include at least two quotes from fake
interviews.– Have a catchy headline– Include the five W’s (What, who, when,
where and why.)