Characterization

What Is It: A character that contrasts the main protagonist to highlight specific traits or values. May rely on similarities in appearance or story to draw attention to the contrasts.

How to Annotate for It: Highlight the traits for characters in different and pay close attention to moments where characters or compared or they have a connection with one another. Pay special attention for moments they are both similar, but different. For instance, they have similar ideas but approach them in different ways. Or they have similar histories, but develop their futures in different ways. As you annotate, create a venn diagram that compares their values. Do any become more relevant through the comparison. For instance, does one character’s virtue make more sense in comparison to another character’s vice?

What Is It: We are all products of where we come from. And when we move to different places, our previous experiences can either help or hurt us. The places we have lived in shape characters, and we'll see that revealed in the reading.

How to Annotate for It: Highlight any personal details provided as a character moves through a place. The author might be trying to build a parallel between those two. Also note how a character responds to a place. Do they suddenly change their behavior? Do they seem to "fit"? Or is something out of place? If so, how would their past setting cause them to be out of place now?

What Is It: As you read, you might notice a character starts to act differently. Or they do/think something that goes directly against what they've done/thought before. This is an inconsistency and it is a key clue to any internal conflicts the character may be going through.

How to Annotate for It: Highlight any time you see the character do/think/say something unexpected. Consider why you think it is unexpected for them? How does it not fit their character? As you ask these questions, you might wonder if this happened because the character is changing or are they revealing their true selves?

What Is It: Characters can come to stand for the values of a society or the values that an author wants to emphasize. As they move through the book, they may represent sacrifice or the good mother, and as they take on those meanings, they turn into symbols for greater values.

How to Annotate for It: Mark up how others interpret characters, and especially the narrator. Are they commonly associated with a major character trait like innocence, motherhood, sacrifice, etc. Their names can be a good indication of this information (is it an allusion?). You might also consider if they match any literary archetypes like the Hero or the Great Mother.