Quick ♫ on Characterization

1. Quick ♫ on Characterization What to pay attention to when reading and writing about “The Most Dangerous Game”

2. Characterization can be achieved through… A. Physical description of character by author - this means the use of adjectives, phrases, and other means of direct, obvious descriptions B. Description through another character’s POV - this may be biased though, so watch out!

3. Ultimately, people are complex beings and so are fictional characters…or at least they should be. That, I suppose, depends on what you are reading…

4. C. The use of dialogue or conversations because what someone says can reveal what he or she is like But what is the problem with this one? • People don’t always tell the truth! (could be manipulators) So Characterization can also be achieved through D. Behavior and actions. What the character does is sometimes more revealing that what he/she says.

5. E. Exploration of a character’s inner thoughts For all of the above, you need to consider implied characterization, which means you need to look at subtext and read between the lines to determine who this person really is. Things to pay attention to: • Is your character being sarcastic? Lying? Does he believe his lies? (Prince Hans!!) • Does he have hidden motives? (Prince Hans…) • Is there bias? Prejudice? Do you have an unreliable narrator? This is something to consider during rereads because you have information you didn’t have before. (think about Snape in the last book!)

6. Finally, characterization can be achieved through… F. The reactions of a character to another character or to a situation. • Sometimes in a stressful situation, our real personalities emerge, and what we’re truly capable of shines through. Or perhaps we’re revealed as someone we didn’t think we are. Ex: think about how Malfoy always turned into a sniveling coward whenever he was threatened, but he hid it behind the façade of a bully.