CharacterisatioN

“We can tell a great deal from a character by how he talks, and who he talks to - how he bumps
up against the world. People are like other people’s estates: we only know of them what abuts our
own. Let us say that a man with dishevelled trousers enters a room in which are standing a man
and a woman. He speaks first to the woman, and ignores the man. Ah, we say to ourselves, he is
that kind of guy. But then the novelist reveals to us that the woman he is talking to is strikingly
unattractive. And suddenly, the extraordinary capacity of the novel speaks: unlike film, the novel
can tell us what a character is thinking. And at this moment, the novelist chooses to add, in free
indirect style, no less: ‘Mother, very traditional in her way, had always instructed him that a
gentleman should talk first to the least attractive woman in the room, to make her feel at ease.
Simple chivalry.”
- How Fiction Works, James Wood

Consider the following character descriptions:

“She was dressed in rich materials - satins, and lace, and silks - all of white. Her shoes were white.
And she had a long white veil dependent from her hair, and she had bridal flowers in her hair, but
her hair was white. Some bright jewels sparkled on her neck and on her hands, and some other
jewels lay sparkling on the table. Dresses, less splendid than the dress she wore, and half-packed
trunks, were scattered about. She had to quite finished dressing for she had but one shoe on - the
other was on the table near her hand…”
- Great Expectations, Charles Dickens

‘He was a gentleman with red whiskers who always went first through the doorway.’
- La Reine Hortense, Guy de Maupassant

Dicken’s description is drawn from a novel and Maupassant’s from a short story. Why do you
think Mauppasant has a provided a briefer description of his character?
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Which of the descriptions do you think creates the best image of a character? Why?
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Re-write Dicken’s character description of Mrs. Havisham in a more succinct manner.

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 CharacterisatioN
Choose THREE of the following prompts and write a character description.

Describe the sound of Describe their shoes. Describe the way the Describe the smell of the
their footsteps. character walks/sits/ character.
writes/opens a door.

Describe their voice. Describe their Describe an action. It Describe their perfume,
Focus on what makes reputation. must be something kind, aftershave or deodorant.
their voice different to cruel or odd they do.
others.

Describe the silhouette Describe how the other Describe how the Describe the character’s
of the person. characters feel about character treats other relationship with their
him/her. people. family.

Describe the character Describe what makes the Describe how other Describe their hair. Be
through their character sad or happy. characters treat this specific about colour,
relationship with others person. texture and the way it
in the room. has been cut.

Describe the colour they Describe the clothes the Describe the accessories Describe how the
are wearing and why character is wearing, but they wear. It could be a character is an ugly
they wear that particular focus on the colours or watch or an earring. version of someone
colour. where the items were famous.
bought from.

Describe their Describe how the Describe their eyes. Give the character’s
personality. character looks at an Include the colour, size name and explain how
object or a person. How of the pupil and the way the name is a good
do they look at it? they move. match for the character.

Describe what they are Describe the character’s Describe the one thing Use a line of dialogue to
not like. He was not tall, reaction to something. that makes this character show the characters
not thin and not clever. contrast with all the personality.
others in the room/
place.

Describe how the Describe the character's Describe what this Describe the state of the
character contrasts with attempts to hide in the person used to be like. place where they sleep.
the room they are in. room. They used to fun, keen
and friendly.