Examples Of Indirect Characterization: The Cat In The Hat

Alexis Aguilar

A characterization a process by which the writer reveals the personality of a character. Characterization is revealed through direct characterization and indirect characterization. A direct characterization tells the audience what the personality of the character is. An example would be, “The patient boy and quiet girl were both well-mannered and did not disobey their mother” In this quote the author is directly telling the audience the personality of the two children. That the boy is “patient” and the girl is “quiet.” Another example would be, “Karen is bright, energetic, and helpful.” This quote is directing us by telling us that Karen is both bright, energetic, and helpful. Another example is, “Joe was motivated by money.

He had no use for love or family.” Directing us that Joe what motivates him is money. Those would be examples of Direct characterizations. Indirect Characterization shows things that reveal the personality of a character. There are five different methods of indirect characterization:

Speech: What does the character say? How does the character speak?

Thoughts: What is revealed through the character’s private thoughts and feelings?

Effect on others toward the character: What is revealed through the character’s effect on other people? How do other characters feel or behave in reaction to the character?

Actions: What does the character do? How does the character behave?

Looks: What does the character look like?

How does the character dress?

Examples of Indirect Characterization from The Cat in the Hat:

Speech: Many of the words spoken by the cat at the beginning of the story have an upbeat connotative meaning. For instance, the cat says to the children. “But we can have/ Lots of fun that is funny!” (7). Explaining that it reveals that the cat’s character is an upbeat character that likes to have fun.

Thoughts: So all we could do was to Sit! Sit! Sit! Sit! And we did not like it. Not one little bit (3). Explaining those are the thoughts of the narrator as he stares out the window on a rainy day. These thoughts reveal that this character is not happy about his current situation.

Effect on others: Throughout the first three quarters of the story, three different illustrations portray the fish scowling at the cat (11, 25, and 37) immediately after each of the cat’s activities. When the cat returns to clean up his mess at the end of the story the fish is shown with a smile on his face (57). Explaining the scowls on the fish’s face support the argument that the cat’s behavior at the beginning of the story is not acceptable to the fish. The fish’s smile at the end of the story reveals that the cat is engaging in behavior that is now acceptance to the

fish.

Actions: On page 18, the cat engages in “Up-up-up with a fish” an activity that involves the cat standing on a ball while balancing seven objects. Later in the story, the cat releases two “things” that fly kites inside the house. Explaining these activities are outrageous, dangerous and should not be conducted in the house. They reveal that the cat’s character is not concerned about rules related to safety and appropriateness.

Looks: Throughout the first three-quarters of the story, the cat is shown with a smile on his face. Towards the end of the story, however, when the cat is told to leave, he is shown leaving the house with a slumped shoulders and a sad face. Explaining the smiles reveal that the cat is enjoying himself and is not apologetic for his outrages behavior. The frown and slumped shoulders at the end of the story show that he is not enjoying himself anymore.

When you watch a movie or television show, you can usually gather what type of person the main character is based on the character’s actions and reactions in different situations.

There isn’t a label on the screen that necessarily says “angelic, gullible teen” or “selfish, arrogant villain.” Instead, you have to watch and listen to that person to notice how the character’s personality is revealed through the story. By doing so, you are seeing how indirect characterization is being used on the screen. This also occurs in many novels and short stories. Instead of watching the character, you imagine the character in your head as you read descriptions of the actions and dialogue. The well-known phrase “show, don’t tell” can apply to indirect vs. direct characterization. Indirect characterization shows who a character is based on what he/she does and says, while direct characterization tells the reader or audience exactly what type of person that character is. An example would be, If a mother calmly tells her son it’s time for bed and he responds by saying, “No, I don’t have to do what you say! I’m staying up all night!” then we can infer that this young boy is mad, obstinate and may have authority issues. The author is not telling us directly what type of personality the boy has instead, we must decide this based on the author’s use of speech. Differences: As where Direct Characterization rather consists of the author telling the audience what a character is like. A narrator

may give this information, or a character in the story may do it. Examples of direct characterization would be:

-“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.”

Like I said above indirect characterization, on the other hand consists of the author showing the audience what kind of a person a character is thoughts, words, and deeds. This requires the audience to make inferences about why a character would say or do those things. This type of characterization is also known as indirect characterization, if often leaves a deeper impression on the reader than direct statements about what a character is like. More examples of indirect characterization:

-“Bill sighed as he looked at the offer of a gym membership. He really should join. But just thinking about it made beads of sweat collect at the top of his bald spot.”

-“As Jane walked past the box labeled “Free Puppies” she furtively glanced around her, then gave the box a swift kick.”

-“I yawned, trying to keep my eyes open in the meeting. I reached for my coffee cup and was disappointed to realize it was empty.”

Common Examples of Characterization

-Online dating websites: This is a primary place for direct characterizations of ourselves. We put up pictures and data to describe our looks, and we answer questions and write essays to describe our personalities.

-Police line-ups: Witnesses to crimes use characterization to give police a better idea of who the culprits might be. This type of characterization is generally based on physical attributes, though detectives also may try to understand the psychology of a criminal to catch him or her.

-Obituaries and eulogies: When a person has died, their loved ones use characterization to give a sense of what kind of person he or she was. This is mostly used to show personality.