Character

A character is the person who appears in the story. The craft of creating a character is called characterisation. Often one of the most absorbing things about a story is the characters. A writer has crafted an excellent character if they have made you, the reader, care about the person. You know the writer has hooked you if you stay up late reading because you simply had to find out what happened to a character at the end of a story.

READING Read the extracts below from some well-known stories that display expert character crafting. Extract A: The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling A black shadow dropped down into the circle. It was Bagheera the Black Panther, inky black all over, but with the panther markings showing up in certain lights like the pattern of watered silk. Everybody knew Bagheera, and nobody cared to cross his path, for he was as cunning as Tabaqui, as bold as the wild buffalo, and as reckless as the wounded elephant. But he had a voice as soft as wild honey dripping from a tree, and a skin softer than down. Extract B: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain He was most fifty, and he looked it. His hair was long and tangled and greasy, and hung down, and you could see his eyes shining through like he was behind vines. It was all black, no gray; so was his long, mixed-up whiskers. There warn’t no color in his face, where his face showed; it was white; not like another man’s white, but a white to make a body sick, a white to make a body’s flesh crawl – a tree-toad white, a fish-belly white. As for his clothes – just rags, that was all. He had one ankle resting on t’other knee; the boot on that foot was busted, and two of his toes stuck through, and he worked them now and then. His hat was laying on the floor – an old black slouch with the top caved in, like a lid. Extract C: Lord of the Flies by William Golding Inside the floating cloak he was tall, thin, and bony; and his hair was red beneath the black cap. His face was crumpled and freckled, and ugly without silliness.©The Educational Company of Ireland

Extract D: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J.K. Rowling

A giant of a man was standing in the doorway. His face was almost completely hidden by a long, shaggy mane of hair and a wild, tangled beard, but you could make out his eyes, glinting like black beetles under all the hair.

Extract E: Great Expectations by Charles Dickens My sister, Mrs. Joe, with black hair and eyes, had such a prevailing redness of skin that I sometimes used to wonder whether it was possible she washed herself with a nutmeg-grater instead of soap. She was tall and bony, and almost always wore a coarse apron, fastened over her figure behind with two loops, and having a square impregnable bib in front, that was stuck full of pins and needles. COMMUNICATING: GROUP DISCUSSION 1 Which of the characters in these extracts would you like to meet and why? 2 Can you think of any character from any story that you were really engaged with? Why do you think that was? 3 Can you think of any character in any text you have come across that you had absolutely no interest in? Why do you think this was? READING Complete the character task in your activity book (see page 10).ACT IVITY ©The Educational Company of Ireland

WRITING SKILLS: CRAFTING A CHARACTER

Read the descriptions of the two characters below. Identify which is a better piece of writing and discuss the reasons why.

Video

CHARACTER A The evil man came into the room and everyone was scared. He had black clothes, black hair and even black eyes.

CHARACTER B The man slipped through the doorway silently, with the skill of someone practised in the art of sneaking. His eyes were pools of endless darkness and his thin lips seemed frozen in a straight line. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up before I saw him. It was as if my body sensed something before I laid eyes on him. Character A is revealed as an evil villain immediately and the description of his appearance gives away his character’s purpose without the reader having to do any thinking at all. This takes away the element of suspense and surprise in the story and may lead to the reader losing interest. Character B is a much better piece of writing as the character and his motivations are revealed to the reader slowly and subtly. The reader is certain this is a sinister character but not sure why and how. The reader must do a bit of work thinking about the character and will therefore be interested in reading on to pick up more and more clues. Character B This suggests to the reader Someone practised in the art of sneaking He does underhand things. Pools of endless darkness There is something sinister about him. Thin lips seemed frozen in a straight line He does not ever smile or talk. Hairs on the back of my neck stood up He scares other people. Just like when creating a setting, a good writer must create interesting characters by keeping in mind two things: purpose and crafting. Purpose: What is the purpose of each character? Are they the hero? The villain? The love interest? The sidekick? Crafting: How will I craft this piece of writing by giving subtle clues and not telling the reader everything about the character?©The Educational Company of Ireland

CRAFTING A CHARACTER TOOLKIT

There are several ways you can craft a character. Below are some interesting ideas to start you off. You can describe the person’s appearance, actions, feelings or other people’s opinions about or reactions to the character.

Other people’s Appearance Actions Feelings reactions

Describe their eyes or mouth in detail: colour, movement, anything unusual Lily’s eyes smiled back. Big pools of sparkling blue, uncoloured by the evils of the world she would have to live in. How the character or a part of the character moves strangely, revealing something about them Looking down at his hands, she realised that she had never seen them shaped any other way than in a tight fist. Angry: biting lip, red face, sweaty, pacing back and forth, heart beating quickly Fuming, she stumbled back upstairs. Her cheeks burned with rage and she bit her lip so hard she began to bleed. The character’s relationship with their family Not one of the O’Connors turned to look at Eoghan when he walked into the room. It was as if he was a ghost or, worse still, like he did not exist at all. Describe the clothes they are wearing in detail: where they bought them, the fabric texture, the condition of them Violet swept into the room draped in a luxurious fur coat that must have cost more than my entire house. A strange action the character does repeatedly that reveals something about them His leg never stopped moving. At times he placed his hand on his knee to steady it, but it was futile. Embarrassed: red face or cheeks, wanting to disappear, covering face, teary-eyed, flushed red all over Alice stepped back behind her sister, bending her head to look at the floor again. She did not want them to see the flames engulfing her cheeks. How others react when the character enters the scene A cold breeze blew through the room suddenly, and they knew he was coming. They braced themselves with every shred of bravery they could muster. Describe their voice in detail: tone, pitch, other characters’ reaction to it Ms Naylor’s voice was like honey. As soon as she began to speak, I knew it would be fine. How a character does not react to a situation Bombs rained down, so near them, they could taste the gunpowder. He continued reading his newspaper, unperturbed. Bored: watching clock, slouching, sighing, rolling eyes, tapping something, staring into space Tapping his pencil on the blank page, Alfie sighed again, and again. The character’s relationship with others with less power than them Mrs Spillane barely looked at them. It was as if they did not exist. And maybe in her bitter mind, they did not. Describe their hands: nails, cleanliness, scars, veins, worn, nail varnish Her hands betrayed her age, despite the flaming red nails and the extravagant rings. How a character can do something nobody else can do I never saw her leave a room without every man, woman and child falling in love with her. Shy: looking down, speaking too low, lack of eye contact, blushing, hands in pockets, fidgeting, hiding Conor never looked her in the eye. He rooted his hands in his pockets as if he were anchoring himself.

How other characters notice or do not notice the character Maybelline scrubbed, swept, wiped, polished and dusted, shielded by the invisibility cloak of her race. ©The Educational Company of Ireland

COMMUNICATING

In small groups, look at the three characters pictured below. Choose the one that most appeals to you. Describe the character by using the toolkit on page 17. First choose your character’s actions, appearance, emotions or other people’s opinions of them. Next, choose a way to express this and apply it to your character. Each member of the group should take a turn adding to the oral picture description. WRITING First choose three tools from the toolkit on page 17 to help you craft a character. Now select one of the purposes from the list below. Write a short paragraph to describe your character. An example has been completed for you. Craft a character who is… the hero’s love interest brave but impatient powerful but cruel the unwilling hero a respected leader a rebel Example Purpose: Craft a character who is a rebel. Toolkit choices: Bored: watching clock, slouching, sighing, rolling eyes, tapping something, staring into space. Describe the clothes they are wearing in detail; where they bought them, the fabric texture, the condition of them. How other characters notice or do not notice the character. Chase lounged lazily on the chair at the back of the classroom, one eye on the clock and another on the door. His untucked shirt, his missing tie and his non-regulation biker boots under his stone-grey trousers set him apart from the others. He noticed that the first thing a teacher did when they entered the room was to scan the back of the room for his presence. He smiled to himself when he saw a flash of fear on their face. Edit your paragraph Skim and scan your character paragraph and ensure you have used capital©The Educational Company of Ireland letters and end punctuation correctly. Turn to page 272 to check the rules.