Six Methods of Characterization

Our next assignment is to use and label the six methods of characterization for one character in our family story. The character that I will be describing is Ken. The six methods are:
Appearance, Inner Thoughts/Feelings, Environment, What They Say, What Others Say About Them, and Actions.

Appearance: I didn’t include any of my Uncle’s physical features, but since my uncle is younger than my auntie, then we can conclude that my uncle is a young kid. This could mean that he is naïve and doesn’t know right from wrong yet.

Inner Thoughts/Feelings: My uncle thinks to himself that he should steal the magazine instead of pay for it because it would be a thrilling experience. This means that my uncle is willing to do anything to get some fun out of life. He has the money, but it would be more exciting if he steals it.

Environment: You can tell what kind of character someone is if they only appear in one environment. This is the first time we meet my uncle, so we don’t know where he usually goes and what he does. But, if we find out that my uncle is always around convenience stores, we can conclude that he’s always trying to steal something.

What they say: My uncle didn’t say anything in my family story. But, based on what we know already, we can infer what he would say. Maybe, he might say, “I didn’t steal anything,” when the police officer talks to him. He could say this because we know that he’s a bad person because he stole a magazine. Maybe he is also a liar.

What others say about them: My auntie says, “You can’t do that, he’s my brother.” From this quote, we know that others care about him. Since this is the first time he stole something, his sister believes that he should be left off the hook.

Actions: My uncle steals a magazine. This means he is a mischievous child. He does bad things, making him a bad kid.