How do authors develop their characters?
There are 7 basic ways:
Name (Nicknames included)--#1
Actions--#2 + 3
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What the character does him/ herself |
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How others act around the character |
Speech--#4, 5, + 6
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What the character says |
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How the character says it |
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What others say about/ to the character |
Appearance (looks)--#7
All others, like personality, beliefs, ideas, thoughts, are brought about BY the 7 above. Test it out! Look through your book.
Other Vocabulary
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round - a well developed character that the author describes with a great deal of information. Usually, this is a main character. |
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flat - a secondary character for whom the author has included little information; these characters are often still important because they move the plot along. |
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dynamic - a character that changes as the story progresses--again, often a main character. |
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static - a character that remains the same throughout the story. The events of the story don't really phase them too much, at least in terms of personality and mentality. |
Of Mice and Men, Character Development in Ch 1.
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Why is Lennie's last name ironic? (Look through ch 2 to find his last name.) |
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Lennie likes to touch soft objects. That's an action. So are gulping scummy water, running into George because he wasn't looking, imitating everything your best friend does. Don't all those tell you something about Lennie's mental state? |
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How does Lennie's speech show you how he thinks? |
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What does George say about Lennie in Ch 1? |
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Steinbeck uses simile/ metaphor to compare Lennie to animals in appearance/ action. What are those 2 animals? |
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Here's another simile. George says Lennie blubbers like a ______. Find it in ch 1. What does that tell you about Lennie's mental/ emotional state? |