Characterization is the process through which an author reveals a character's personality.

It's a gentle
unfolding of a woman's confidence or a man's brilliant mind.

With direct characterization, aka explicit characterization, the author will tell you in precise words what
the character is like. A narrator may give this information, or a character in the story may do it

◾“Bill was short and fat, and his bald spot was widening with every passing year.”

◾“‘Jane is a cruel person,’ she said.’”

◾“I looked in the mirror and saw how dark the circles under my green eyes had

become.”
The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway

“He had a long chin and big rather prominent teeth, just covered, when he was not talking, by his full,
floridly curved lips. Old, young? Thirty? Fifty? Fifty-five? It was hard to say.”

Indirect Characterization Examples

Indirect characterization is when an author reveals a character’s traits through actions, thoughts,
speech, etc., instead of saying it outright. For example, indirect characterization describing a protagonist
might read, “John snapped at the man without warning,” whereas direct characterization would say
simply, “John was short-tempered.”

Indirect characterization is more subtle. It's not something we learn straight away in one, short passage.
There are five ways a writer might reveal someone's character indirectly:

Actions - How does the character behave? Is he or she rash and spontaneous? Or, is he or she quiet,
reserved, and slow to making any sort of change?

Effects - How is the character received by other characters? Do people gravitate toward him or her? Or,
do they scatter to the wind when they know they're making their way toward them?

Looks - How is the character described? Is he or she well-polished, wearing the finest of frocks? Or, are
they more free-spirited, taking on the mood of a hippie?

Speech - What type of dialogue is created for the character? Do they stutter and stammer in sheepish
tones? Or, are they regal, commanding the attention of the room whenever they speak?

Thoughts - If an author is omniscient, or able to relay every character's thoughts, then we can learn a lot
about the character through their thoughts. Do they go home and brood angrily by the fire? Do they
worry and wonder through their days, hoping they haven't offended a soul and garnered everyone's
affection?
Indirect characterization most often happens over the course of a longer work of fiction, rather than in a
single paragraph or section. However, these shorter examples of indirect characterization in literature
will help you see how this type of characterization works in practice: