IB Docs (2) Team
Characterization 1
Why do some fictional characters seem so real? How do writers bring these imaginary people to life? Characterization, or the art of creating a character, is a literary device that relies on narrative technique. Generally speaking there are four ways in which readers become familiar with fictional character:
- by listening to the character in dialogue,
- by viewing the character's actions,
- by overhearing the character's thoughts,
- through the narrator directly, who tells us what to think of the character.
For example, some of the most famous words from Hamlet, "to be or not to be," tell us a lot about who he is. On stage he has to use a dramatic aside or monologue to convey his thoughts to the audience. He holds a skull in his hand, meaning he is pondering the difference between life and death. These actions and words help create the Hamlet that we know as pensive, indecisive person.
In this lesson we will look at a passage from The Handmaid's Tale, a novel by Margaret Atwood. You do not need to know the novel to do this activity. Because the novel is told in the first person, we will only focus on the first three ways of achieving characterization. You can apply this activity to any work you are reading for Part 3 or Part 4.
Getting to know a character
As you read the passage below, ask yourself two questions:
- "What kind of person is Offred, the main character?"
- "How do I know this?"
Then fill in a table like the one you see here. You can check for understanding by revealing the hidden boxes.
Characterization through narration
| Judging by... | What kind of person is Offred? |
| her dialogue |
 Offred is very obedient and plain in her responses to the Commander's questions. She agrees with him. She agrees to play Scrabble with him by using a minimal amount of language. In fact she only responds with a nod, when he asks if she knows how to play. Through her dialogue, we can she that she is submissive and cooperative. |
| her actions |
She sits straight in the chair, and her body language emits obedience and servitude. She moves the counters around in her fingers, enjoying their feel. She must be deprived of board games and the sensation of touching interesting objects. |
| her thoughts |
She does not say what is on her mind. She wants to laugh at the Commander's request, but she keeps a straight face. She has a flashback to her youth, when there were Christmas trees, board games and freedoms. Now she seems to be locked up, forbidden from such luxuries. She thinks of Scrabble as something 'dangerous'. She must live a very oppressed life. |
Characterization in a novel
The Handmaid's Tale
Margaret Atwood
1985
I sit up straight on the chair, my hands folded in my lap. I feel as if my feet in their flat red shoes aren’t quite touching the floor. But of course they are.
“You must find this strange,” he says.
I simply look at him. The understatement of the year, was a phrase my mother uses. Used.
I feel like cotton candy: sugar and air. Squeeze me and I’d turn into a small sickly damp wad of weeping pinky-red.
“I guess it is a little strange,” he says, as if I’ve answered.
I think I should have a hat on, tied with a bow under my chin.
“I want…” he says.
I try to lean forward. Yes? Yes yes? What, then? What does he want? But I won’t give it away, this eagerness of mine. It’s a bargaining session, things are about to be exchanged. She who does not hesitate is lost. I’m not giving anything away: selling only.
“I would like – ” he says. “This will sound silly.” And he does look embarrassed, sheepish was the word, the way men used to look once. He’s old enough to remember how to look that way, and to remember also how appealing women once found it. The young ones don’t know those tricks. They’ve never had to use them.
“I’d like you to play a game of Scrabble with me,” he says.
I hold myself absolutely rigid. I keep my face unmoving. So that’s what’s in the forbidden room! Scrabble! I want to laugh, shriek with laughter, fall off my chair. This was once the game of old women, old men, in the summers or in retirement villas, to be played when there was nothing good on television. Or of adolescents, once, long long ago. My mother had a set, kept at the back of the hall cupboard, with the Christmas tree decorations in their cardboard boxes. Once she tried to interest me in it, when I was thirteen and miserable and at loose ends.
Now of course it’s something different. Now it’s forbidden, for us. Now it’s dangerous. Now it’s indecent. Now it’s something he can’t do with his Wife. Now it’s desirable. Now he’s compromised himself. It’s as if he’s offered me drugs.
“All right,” I say, as if indifferent. I can in fact hardly speak.
He doesn’t say why he wants to play Scrabble with me. I don’t ask him. He merely takes a box out from one of the drawers in his desk and opens it up. There are the plasticized wooden counters I remember, the board divided into squares, the little holders for setting the letters in. He dumps the counters out on the top of his desk and begins to turn them over. After a moment I join in.
“You know how to play?” he says.
I nod.
We play two games. Larynx, I spell. Valance. Quince. Zygote. I hold the glossy counters with their smooth edges, finger the letters. The feeling is voluptuous. This is freedom, an eyeblink of it. Limp, I spell. Gorge. What a luxury. The counters are like candies, made of peppermint, cool like that. Humbugs, those were called. I would like to put them into my mouth. They would taste also of lime. The letter C. Crisp, slightly acid on the tongue, delicious.
Towards assessment
Individual oral commentary - As you comment on a passage from a novel or play in the individual oral commentary, you will want to take characterization into consideration. Examine the use of narration critically and ask yourself how it is used to establish a character in the mind of the reader. Focus on the dialogue, action and thoughts of a particular character.
Twitter
Facebook
LinkedIn