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ELA 4: Direct and Indirect Characterization 1158 Views


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Description:

Characterization is important in any story. Unless it's a story by an existentialist. In that case, who cares? What difference does anything really make?

Language:
English Language

Transcript

00:03

[Dino and Coop singing]

00:12

Think about this.

00:14

All of your favorite characters started out as an idea in an author’s head, crazy right. [Boy sat at a laptop thinking of character ideas]

00:20

And once that idea took root, it was up to the author to nurture it into a fully developed character.

00:25

Nurturing is a pretty important part of writing a character. [Character grows out of a vegetable patch]

00:29

Because sure, the author has a clear idea of how a character acts, thinks, speaks, and feels,

00:34

but unless we climb inside their brain, we're gonna be in the dark. After all the author can't just say [Man looking scared inside someones brain]

00:39

You know exactly how Henry would react to this right? [Monsters approach Henry]

00:42

Because no, we don't know how Henry would react.

00:46

So how can an author communicate what their character is all about, through characterization,

00:50

which breaks down into two types: direct characterization, and indirect characterization.

00:56

Direct characterization is as basic as characterization gets: all it does is tell the reader what [Coop pointing at a blackboard]

01:02

the character's like.

01:03

So if the author is writing about a basketball player who's tall and shy, direct characterization [Basketball player appears]

01:08

would look something like this: "The basketball player was tall and shy."

01:12

Not exactly the fanciest sentence in the world, but it gets the job done.

01:15

With indirect characterization however, the reader has to infer, or guess, the character's [Dino pointing at a blackboard]

01:20

traits based on what the character does, says, feels, thinks, and how the story unfolds.

01:26

If the author wanted to describe that same shy basketball player using indirect characterization,

01:31

they wouldn't just write "Hey, this basketball dude is shy!"

01:35

Good thing too that'd probably embarrass our poor basketball bud. [Basketball player runs away]

01:39

Instead, using indirect characterization, they'd write scenes where the character acts

01:44

shy.

01:45

Like maybe we see how much he hates meeting new people, or how uncomfortable he is raising his hand in class [Basketball player looks terrified]

01:51

There’s one thing in a book that gives the author a whole bunch of options for characterization

01:56

Take first person: when we see the narrative through one character's eyes. [Point of view footage on a roller coaster]

02:00

Since this perspective gives us a clear view of what's in one character's head, their thoughts

02:05

and feelings can be revealed directly.

02:07

That said, first person also gives a lot of wiggle room for indirect characterization.

02:11

How? Well, there’s the indirect characterization of all the characters whose points of view [Dino grabs hold of another toy and hits it into the floor]

02:16

we’re not seeing through… You know like our main characters best friend our their annoying big sister.

02:22

And even the protagonist can be revealed through indirect characterization.

02:26

Most of the time, shy people don't just stand around thinking, "I am shy," so a quality

02:30

like shyness can still be revealed indirectly through actions rather than direct description. [Sped up footage of a busy street]

02:35

The same range of options is available in third person: which is when the narrative isn't told

02:39

through any particular character's perspective.

02:41

Since we're not limited to what one character knows, all of the characters can be directly [Kid hitting on older person on the head with a rubber duck]

02:46

described if the author wants.

02:48

Or, if they want to hold back a bit, they can let actions and dialogue reveal character [Someone typing on a keyboard]

02:52

traits indirectly.

02:53

Whether it's done directly or indirectly, characterization is incredibly important if

02:56

an author wants their characters to really jump off the page. [Characters jump off of books onto a desk]

02:59

And guess what, they can use characterization to tell us how good the character is at jumping.

03:04

Like that shy basketball player?

03:06

Probably a great jumper.

03:07

But also, probably doesn’t love when everybody’s making a big deal about it. [Basketball player jumps and puts the ball in the hoop]

03:10

Sorry dude, we'll stop calling you out on this video, this must be a nightmare for you huh? [Basketball player looks upset and slides down his classroom chair]

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