1. EWRT 2 A Game of Thrones
Class 5

2. AGENDA
Characterization
Direct
Indirect
Group Discussion
Eight Methods of Characterization
Rhetorical Strategy:
Examples and explanation
In-class Writing

3. Characterization
Direct or Indirect?

4. Direct Characterization Indirect Characterization
 The writer makes direct  the writer reveals
statements about a information about a
character’s personality and character and his/her
tells what the character is personality through that
character’s thoughts, words,
like. and actions, along with how
other characters respond
 Think adjectives. to that character, including
what they think and say
about him/her.
 Think verbs.
Two Types of Characterization

5. Direct Characterization Indirect Characterization
 Gary is a nice and caring person.  Gary watched his little brother
for two hours while their
mother was ill, taking care of his
 Gary can sometimes be very every need. He did this without
mean or rude. being asked and he did not ask
for anything in return.
 “The next thing I know, Gary
was tearing up my rose garden,”
said Beatrice his elderly
grandmother as she gave her
statement to the police. She was
still badly shaken after the attack.

6. Group Discussion
Get into groups
Answer the following questions (in
the best case scenario, with textual
evidence).
Determine if the evidence is direct
or indirect

7. Robert Baratheon
Petyr Baelish
Cersei Lannister
Varys
Joffrey Baratheon
Grand Maester Pycelle
Tyrion Lannister
Family Clegane
Jaime Lannister
Jon Snow  Bran Stark
Maester Aemon  Sansa Stark
Jeor Mormont  Arya Stark
Samwell Tarley  Rob Stark
 Theon Greyjoy
• Eddard Stark
• Catelyn Stark • Khal Drogo
• Maester Luwin • Daenerys Targaryen
• Citizens of Westeros: Prostitutes • Viserys Targaryen
• House Stark: Septa Mordane/Old Nan • Jorah Mormont

8. How does ancestry shape your character? Is the character at odds with family
traditions?
Who are character’s closest family members: spouse, children, parents, grandparents,
siblings.
What motivates your character? Money? Love? Truth? Power? Justice?
What does your character want more than anything else in the world?
What other characters or events are interfering with your character’s goals? What
obstacles are in the way?
What is your character’s single greatest fear? How did your character acquire his or her
fears?
What are your character’s flaws and weaknesses?
Do the character’s fears and flaws prevent him or her from reaching a goal or goals?

9. Eight ways to look at a character in a story

10. 1. Physical Description
Physical description is the most common way
of describing a character.
It identifies physical attributes of the character.
height, skin, hair and eye color, short/tall, skinny/fat,
glasses, nose size and shape, disability, difference
gestures and movements: walking, standing, moving,
wrinkling brow

12. 2. Name
Analysis
To analyze a character’s name, look more
closely at its meaning, allusion, or
suggestion.
Not all characters have a name with significance
to the story. Often though, author’s carefully
choose a character’s name to represent a trait
or quality about the character or the story.

13.  STARK: Lords of Winterfell
 The English/German surname Stark means “strong,
brave.”
 Stark is also a common word in the English language
meaning “harsh, grim or desolate; extremely simple
or severe; bluntly or sternly plain.” The word
comes from the Middle/Old English stearc (stiff,
firm). It is similar to the German stark and the Old
Norse sterkr (both meaning strong).
 Interestingly enough, stark also means, in an archaic
sense, “strong, powerful, massive, robust.”
http://thekingskeep.wordpress.com/2011/05/02/whats-in-a-
name-stark-edition-2/

14. This method of characterization is
the reader’s description of the
character’s attitude and behavior.
The character’s attitude is how the
character appears to feel about
what is happening to him or her in
the story. Sometimes we read
attitude in behavior rather than
words.

16. 4. Dialogue
Dialogue refers to characters’ words
Dialogue includes the characters diction
(word choice) and syntax (word
arrangement).
It also includes the tone of the character
when he or she speaks.
Is the character serious? Sarcastic? Shy?
Obnoxious? Ignorant?
these qualities can be conveyed through the
characters dialogue.

18. 5.Thoughts
 The thoughts of a character can only be
analyzed if we are inside the head of the
character.
 This means that you can only include an
analysis of a character’s thoughts if you
are told what the character is thinking.

20. 6. Reactions of Others
When analyzing the reactions of
others, you are looking closely at
how other characters in the story
react to or treat the character
that you are characterizing.
Reactions include verbal
responses and physical or
emotional treatment.
Character reactions can tell you
if the character you are analyzing
is liked or disliked, popular,
honest, trustworthy and so on.

21. Example of Reactions of Others:

22. 7. Action or Incident
 Characters can be analyzed by looking at
an action or incident and how it affected
them or how they reacted to it.
 What action did the character take when
confronted with a certain situation?
 Is there and incident in the character’s
past that has shaped him or her as a
character?
 The action or incident determines the way
the character develops as the story goes
on.

24. 8. Physical/Emotional Setting:
The setting of a story affects the
characters’ development as well as the
plot.
The physical setting of a story is where
the story is actually taking place and
can affect the way a character develops.
The emotional setting of a story is the
series of emotions that the character
deals with throughout the story.

26. OK. So now what?
I am glad you asked!

27. Paragraph Practice
Claiming,
EXEMPLIFYING, AND
EXPLAINING

28. Claim
Compose a topic sentence in which you describe how the
author uses diction, imagery, details, language, and/or
syntax to create your character.
Explain (Context)
Compose multiple sentences in which you give
background information about where you found your
textual evidence. What’s going on in the novel in the
section you chose your passage from?
You’ll want to make this sentence work seamlessly with
your textual evidence. Think about using a colon at the end
of your background info to introduce the quote.

29. Exemplify
 Insert your textual evidence: “…” (240).
 Make sure to punctuate your quoted textual evidence
properly, including quotation marks and the page number
in parenthesis.
Explain/Analyze (Meaning)
 Compose several sentences in which you explain how the
evidence helps create the character (or character trait) you
identified in the topic sentence.
 The more fully you can explain how the textual evidence
proves your topic sentence, the better.

30. Study the words for the test next Tuesday!

33. Homework
Read A Game of Thrones through 500
Post # 8 In-class writing: Paragraph
practice
Post #9 Find one example for each of
the eight methods of characterization.
Study Vocabulary: Test next Tuesday