S2 Exercise 8: Characters (1)
CHARACTERS
It is important that writers create characters that seem realistic.
Writers will take into account the following features when creating a character:
- Appearance - Facial expressions, attractiveness, clothing, gestures and the way a character moves are extremely important.
- Personality - Outlook, mood and attitudes are crucial to our understanding of a character’s motives.
- Behaviour - We can tell a great deal about a character by examinging his/her actions.
Take a close look at the opening paragraph of Eain Colfer’s novel “Benny and Omar”, in which we are introduced to the central character.
“Benny Shaw was built like a ferret, or so Father Barty likes to tell everybody.
Short and skinny with bandy legs you could role a basket ball through.
At this moment his brow was wrinkled in concentration”.
A) Write the answers to the following questions in your jotter
- Write down all of the words and phrases that tell you about Benny’s appearance.
- What does the comparison to a ferret suggest about Benny’s personality?
- What type of behaviour would you expect of a character whose brow is “wrinkled in concentration”
Look now at Philip Pullman’s description of Lord Asriel in his novel “Northern lights”.
“Then Lord Asriel stood up and turned away from the fire. She saw him fully, and
marvelled at the contrast he made with the plump Butler, the stooped and
languid Scholars. Lord Asriel was a tall man with powerful shoulders, a fierce dark
face, and eyes that seemed to flash and glitter with savage laughter. It was a
face to be dominated by, or to fight: never a face to patronize or pity. All his
movements were large and perfectly balanced, like those of a wild animal
and when he appeared in a room like this, he seemed a wild animal held in a cage
too small for it”.
B) Consider very carefully the words and phrases in the example above and then answer the following questions:
- Write the word that suggests Lord Asriel imprsses Lyra
- Which words continue the impression of Lord Asriel created by the use of the word “fierce”?
- With reference to the extract, explain the differences between Lord Asriel and the other characters mentioned by Pullman.
- Describe how you would feel if you encountered Lord Asriel and give reasons for your answer