Thursday, October 6, 2011

Say What?

I've been thinking a lot lately about characters and how authors develop them for the reader. They almost always help a reader to visualize characters by providing physical descriptions, and they often reveal what characters are like through their actions.
Did you know we can learn about a character by what he or she says or thinks? This will often show the reader what type of person he or she is. Think about it. Have you ever listened to someone talk and then made a judgment about what kind of a person he or she is based on what was said?

I want you to look through your book and find some dialogue between two characters or a part of the story where a character is thinking. Read it carefully and decide what the words spoken or thought by the character reveal about him or her. Then tell me:

1. the title and author of your book
2. the character's name and what he or she said or thought
(Be careful to use quotation marks correctly!)
3. Tell what this revealed about the character to you.

For example, here's what I would write based on a character in a book I recently read :

In Water for the Elephants, written by Sara Gruen, the main character Jacob is thinking, "I knew how important it was to keep her secret, and keep it I did - for the rest of her life, and then beyond. In seventy years, I've never told a blessed soul."
From these thoughts I know that Jacob is an extremely trustworthy and one-of-a-kind soul! Most people can't keep a secret to themselves for over five minutes!

Get the idea? Okay! Now tell me about one of your characters!

17 comments:

Jasmin C. said...

In Tennyson, written by Lesley M. M. Blume, the main character Aunt Henrietta said, "You are not everyone,from now on you may only speak when I require an answer. Stand up straight and tell me your names."
These words reveal to me, that Aunt Henrietta is sophisticated but strict when it comes to kids. I know a lot of people that love kids and would never say that to them. They have to enforce the rules sometimes, but not as much as Aunt Henrietta.

Mrs. Halterman said...

I agree absolutely, Jasmin. There's a fine line between being strict and being overbearing. Maybe there's something in Aunt Henrietta's past that causes her to act like this towards the children. You'll have to let us know!

Mrs. H

Greg S said...

In Maniac Magee, by: Jerry Spinelli the main character George Magee was asked if he had a home. He whined "No, no sir I do not have a home."In my opinion that that reveals some true honesty. I know for sure that if someone asked me if I had a home I would say yes but George just told them the truth. that is some real honesty in my opinion.

Mrs. Halterman said...

Ah! One of my all-time favorite books...I've probably read it a dozen times! But, George? Isn't his name Jeffery Lionel Magee?
I loved how he and Earl Grayson became friends and Maniac taught him to read.

Jared H said...

In watch wolf written by Kathryn Lasky the gnaw wolf Edme says "it's not my clan anymore."
this tells me that she is upset about what her clan did to her

Mrs. Halterman said...

Well, don't leave me hanging! What did the clan do to her? You've piqued my curiosity now!

Joseph.N said...

In Long Shot by Mike Lupica, the main character is Pedro Morales. His dad, Luis and he are talking on the soccer field. Luis said "If you have the talent and you have the will, then nothing is out of your reach". This tells me he has a lot of heart, is very determined and can do anything he puts his mind to.

Mrs. Halterman said...

Wow, Joseph! That is certainly advice that we could all follow, isn't it? I believe we can do most anything that we set our minds to!

Lauryn S said...

In Travel Team by Mike Lupica Teddy Moran says "You didn't steal enough of our players to win this game!"
This shows that Teddy is either jealous or angry that Ty is playing for the Warriors instead of the Vikings. It also shows that Teddy can be mean spirted towards others.

Mrs. Halterman said...

I don't understand jealous and mean spirited people! Often times they are very envious of others' successes and will do their best to prevent someone else from succeeding. Most are simply very unhappy people, I believe.

jackw said...

Brian's Hunt by Gary Paulsen

In Brian's Hunt, Brian thinks about Kay-gwa-daush a lot and wants to tell her he loves her. He also thinks about telling her about the beauty marks on her face from when a stock of a gun kicked back in her face when she was a child. He loves her. I think this is funny because love is a funny thing.

Mrs. Halterman said...

Well, Jack, just wait until you're in Brian's shoes... :)

Mrs. Halterman

JackW said...

In Woods Runner by Gary Paulsen,

Annie said, "We go to New York and get our Ma and Pa."
Annie said our Ma and Pa but they are not really her parents. They are Samuel's parents. When she said this, she thought that it was their parents because her parents were just killed by the Hessians. I think that it is good that she is not thinking about her parents' death at this moment. I think she would have to be very strong to somewhat get over this great loss in her life as a child.

Mrs. Halterman said...

I agree Jack. The loss of parents at any age is a very difficult thing to get through.

Joseph N said...

The war of the worlds.by H.G. Wells

Wells told his wife "those Martians are too heavy to get out of the pit." he told his wife that so she did not worry about him while she was with her cousin in Maybury




By:Joseph Nesselrodt

Mrs. Halterman said...

That's a thoughtful man, now, isn't it?!

jackw said...

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

"Leave the district. Run off. Live in the woods. You and I, we could make it,"says Gale. I think this would be a wonderful idea, if they could accomplish this goal.