Characterization
Explain direct and indirect characterization through speech, action, thought, appearance, and relationships. Track how characters change over time.
A lesson of English 9, in Close Reading and Literary Foundations, about 10 minutes.
By the end of this lesson, you will be able to distinguish direct from indirect characterization, analyze characters using the STEAL method, explain character development (dynamic vs. static), and use characterization as evidence in literary analysis.
What Is Characterization?
Characterization is the method an author uses to reveal a character's personality, motivations, and values.
Direct characterization: the narrator or another character explicitly tells us what someone is like.
"She was an intelligent, ambitious young woman."
Indirect characterization: we infer the character from what they say, do, think, and how others respond to them. More common in sophisticated literature; more revealing; requires reader participation.
The STEAL Method
Indirect characterization can be analyzed through five lenses:
S — Speech: What does the character say? How do they speak?
T — Thoughts: What does the character think or feel?
E — Effect on others: How do other characters respond to them?
A — Actions: What does the character do (especially under pressure)?
L — Looks: How are they described physically?
The most revealing category is usually Actions — what a character does under pressure reveals their true nature, not what they say about themselves.
Example — Characterizing Atticus Finch
In To Kill a Mockingbird:
Actions: defends Tom Robinson despite enormous social pressure; faces a mob alone at the jail.
Speech: speaks honestly to his children; never lies about difficult realities.
Effect on others: inspires deep respect in some (his children, the Black community); contempt in others (racist neighbors).
Inference: His actions define him as courageous, principled, and genuinely committed to justice — not merely theoretically.
Dynamic vs. Static Characters
Dynamic character: undergoes significant internal change over the course of the story. The change is usually the result of confronting the central conflict.
Static character: remains essentially unchanged.
Round character: complex, multi-dimensional; has contradictions and surprises.
Flat character: one-dimensional, defined by a single trait.