Character Analysis

1. adventurous Character Analysis When you read a story, think about the characters as if they were real people. greedy fearful unhappy loving aggressive

2. To identify character traits, think of the following: • What does the character say and think? • What does the character do (physical • actions)? Direct presentation • How does the character look? • What do the other characters think about the character? • How does the character make you feel? Indirect presentation shy graceful

3. Createan SADRR chart when you read. The Name of Your Character: ________ Identify a character trait _____________ If possible, identify another character trait ________________

4. Read the excerpt and identify a character trait for Baboushka “Once upon a time, in a small village in Russia there lived a woman called Baboushka. Baboushka was very house-proud. She had the tidiest house in the village and the most beautiful garden. She was always cooking, scrubbing, and sweeping, polishing and painting.”

5. “All the villagers were out in the square talking about the bright new star that had just appeared in the sky. Everyone was very excited about the star because it brought great news. But Baboushka didn’t even notice the dazzling star she was far too busy cleaning her house.” • Let’s use an organizer

6. Character Name: Baboushka She feels she must always clean and is very “house-proud”. She looks very neat and clean. She is very busy and constantly cleaning. I like her. She seems like a nice lady She had the tidiest house and most beautiful garden Identify a character trait for Baboushka: ________________ Clean Hard worker If possible, identify another character trait: ________________

7. Did You Notice? • Character traits are descriptive adjectives. • We can describe characters using character traits that tell us the specific qualities of the character. • An author may tell us the character traits directly (direct presentation), but more often the author will show us these traits by what the character does (indirect presentation). devious protective

8. Classifying Characters • You may remember the terms we used to classify characters last week when discussing story elements. We can use the same terms for classifying characters in the novel. • The protagonist is the main character. • The antagonist is the character or force opposing the main character. • However, here are some new terms to help classify characters further… • Flat: characterized by one or two traits, summed up in a few sentences. • Round: complex and many-sided. • Stock: a type of flat, stereotypical figure who has occurred so often in fiction that his/her nature is immediately known (i.e. sinister villain, good sheriff, mad scientist, etc.)

9. Classifying Characters • Static: unchanging character from the beginning to the end. • Developing or Dynamic: undergoes a permanent change in some aspect of his/her character, personality, or outlook. • Perrine, L. (1987) Story and Structure, Toronto: Harcourt Brace Canada Ltd.

10. Let’s Practice! A long time ago, Nyame the god of the sky gave Ananzi the spider a huge pot which held all the wisdom of the world. Nyame told Ananzi the spider to share this wisdom with everyone he met. The pot was filled with wonderful pictures, stories, and music and many more exciting ideas. Whenever Ananzi looked in the pot he learned something new. Ananzi didn’t want to share the wisdom. “I will keep it for myself!” he thought. So Ananzi decided to hid the pot of wisdom on the top of a tall tree, where no one else could find it.

11. He tied a rope around the pot and then tied it around his waist. But the pot was too heavy and kept getting in Ananzi’s way. Ananzi’s son watched him climb the tree. “Tie the pot to your back” he shouted. “It will make the climb easier.” But when Ananzi got to the top he was very angry. “My son knows more than I do and I have the pot of wisdom.” he cried. Ananzi was so angry that he threw the pot away. Crash! The pot broke into hundreds of pieces. Whoosh! The wisdom flew everywhere! People found bits of wisdom and started taking it home to their friends.

12. Character Name: Ananzi________ Name a character trait ________________ If possible name another character trait ________________

13. How does understanding character traits help me understand the story?

14. Character Traits: • Help us understand why characters speak and act the way they do. • Help us understand what the characters think or why they have certain beliefs. • Help us understand a character’s relationships with other characters. • Help us predict what characters might do next. • Help us make inferences and to draw conclusions about events in the story.

15. Let’s see how knowing Ananzi’scharacter traits might help us understand the story… • Why does Ananzi want to hide the pot of knowledge? • How does Ananzi feel about his son? • What kind of relationship will Ananzi have with the people who now have bits of knowledge? • What might Ananzi do about losing the pot of knowledge? • What lesson could Ananzi learn from the events in the story?

16. Your turn… • Now using the SADRR chart, create a character analysis of Rachel from the story “Eleven”.