Use one the attached documents to complete the assignment for this lesson. You will :
- Consider the stories we have read so far.
- Find three quotes in the story that are examples of characterization (revealing traits). Remember that character traits are long-lasting, like “Shy,” or “Friendly,” but not moods like “Sad,” or “Angry.” Your three quotes can come from the same story or different stories and you may use more than one quote for the same character, or all of your quotes can be about different characters.
- See the examples on the attachments as guides and then include three quotes of your own.
- You will type on one of the two documents (chart or bullet points), save it, and submit it to assignment space in the lesson.
Stories:
“I Stand Here Ironing” by Tillie Olsen
“A Good Man is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor
“Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates
“Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin
Notes:
Well-developed characters are what make literary fiction stand out as art. Short stories like the ones we read in class are character-driven, which means we read to find out not just what happens, but how things affect characters we like or care about.
> Consider a movie like Transformers (I really hate Transformers movies …But it’s totally okay if you like them!). This is plot-driven – we watch to find out what happens in the action sequences. We like to see things explode, and we want to make sure the Earth isn’t destroyed. We may even want the main characters to end up in love, but we don’t care about or even see them as fully developed and realistic people.
> In stories we read in class, though, authors spend time building realistic characters we can relate to, or whom we find to be realistic representations of people. These characters are complex and nuanced, they are people who remind us of people we know.
> We don’t always agree about which characters are the most relatable or likable. That’s what makes these stories realistic. In real life, we don’t all always agree about which person is on the right side of an argument, or which person we like better.
> What we are mostly concerned with is how authors create realistic characters and how authors drive us to care about them. The lessons these characters learn are usually lessons authors want us to learn, or things authors want us to think about as we read the story.