Characterization, Dialogue, and Point of View. A character is a person an animal who takes part in the action of a literary work. Characterization is the act of creating or describing a character. Writers use three major techniques to create character:
• showing what characters say, do, and think;
• showing what other characters say about them;
• showing what physical features, dress, and personality the characters display.
By presenting the words, actions, and thoughts of the character, the writer allows the reader to draw his or her own conclusions about the character based on what the character says, does, thinks, and feels. Revealing the words and thoughts of other characters or of the narrator allows the reader to learn how others perceive the character. Direct descriptions allow the reader to learn about the character’s appearance, habits, dress, background, personality, and motivations. As you read “Getting the Facts of Life,” think about the character Minerva. In what ways does she change through the course of the story? Dialogue—conversation involving two or more people or characters—can be an important part of characterization. Fictional works are made up of dialogue, narration, and description. Through dialogue, the reader hears the character’s words and learns about the character’s thoughts. In fiction, dialogue is enclosed in quotation marks and usually is accompanied by tag lines, words and phrases such as he said or she replied that tell who is speaking. In “Getting the Facts of Life,” watch for dialogue that gives insight into characters. What comments reveal something about the speaker? What do the comments reveal? Point of view is the vantage point from which a story is told. If a story is told from the first-person point of view, the narrator uses words such as I and we and is a part of or witness to the action. If a story is told from the third-person point of view, the narrator uses words such as he, she, it, and they. As you read “Getting the Facts of Life,” identify the point of view. How does the point of view contribute to characterization in the story?
Mood. Mood, or atmosphere, is the feeling or emotion the writer creates in a literary work. By working carefully with descriptive language, the writer can evoke in the reader an emotional response such as fear, discomfort, longing, or anticipation. What details recur in “Getting the Facts of Life”? What kind of mood do those details help create?
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• The family in this story is on welfare. Welfare is aid in the form of money or necessities given to families in need. Many different government programs provide this type of aid.
• History Connection. Early welfare programs in the United States were based on the English Poor Laws, a system set up in England in the 1500s and 1600s. Throughout the 1800s, the U.S. welfare system went through numerous reforms, but it never disappeared. The Great Depression in the 1930s led to the establishment of the Social Security Act and a variety of programs to fight poverty among elderly people, disabled people, unemployed people, and families with young children. These programs also have gone through many transformations. In the late 1990s, the federal government transferred much of the responsibility for these programs to state governments.
What experiences have you had that have forced you to feel more grown-up?
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