Authorial Characterization in "The Cask of the Amontillado"

​Character and Inference in "The Cask of the Amontillado"

by Edgar Allan Poe

H ​

​Guiding Assessment Questions:

Guiding Questions :

1. How do the authors' choices around structure, characterization, and description help readers connect with a character who is atypical in many ways? 

2. How does recognizing a range of behavior help us internalize and accept the challenge of being different?​

​(Thursday: We will go over class-generated examples provided today)

​

​

​

​

Learning Objective: Students will be able to identify, infer and explain how descriptive examples from the short story help the reader connect with a character who is ‘atypical’ in many ways.

​

Language Objective: Students will be able to ask and answer questions about the text orally and in writing, using complete sentences.

​

​

​

​

​

​"The Cask of the Amantillado": Character and Description

Multiple Select

Inference, or inferring, is a literary technique in which the reader ______.

• works things out using clues in the text.

• 'reads between the lines' so as to gather insights not directly expressed in the text.

• goes beyond the surface details to see other meanings that the details suggest or imply.

• puts into practice what he or she does everyday in real life.

Multiple Select

Direct Characterization involves the writer

• making explicit statements about a character's personality.

• telling the reader or viewer what the character is like.

• revealing details about a character without stating them explicitly.

• showing character traits through his/her actions, speech, thoughts, appearance, and how other characters react to them.

Multiple Select

Indirect Characterization involves the writer

• making explicit statements about a character's personality.

• telling the reader or viewer what the character is like.

• revealing details about a character without stating them explicitly.

• showing character traits through his/her actions, speech, thoughts, appearance, and how other characters react to them.

​🍄Using the list to the right, your job will be to go back through the story, looking for specific examples in which the author extends the two characters' characterization as an 'atypical' character via 'indirect characterization.'

​

🍄Form groups of 2-3 and find 3 examples in the text. Your group will need to cite the passage and be able to explain why you chose that particular example (i.e. what makes it 'indirect')

Video Response

In groups of TWO or THREE only, explain three examples of indirect characterization and explain how this impacts the audience. What does it show them about the characters?

(Use your character trait vocabulary.)

iF YOU CAN NOT RECORD HERE, JUST BYASS AND RECORD IT ON A FLIP.

Open Video Recorder

Open Ended

HOW IS THE CHARACTERIZATION OF ODYSSEUS AND POLYTHEMEUS AND THAT OF MONTRESOR AND FORTUNADO SIMILIAR CHARACTERS? PLEASE EXPLAIN HOW THIS CHARACTERIZATION INFLUENCES THE AUDIENCES OF THESE TWO CLASSIC LITERARY TEXT.

Match

Exit Ticket: Match the following

• Conflict

• Exposition

• Direct characterization

• Indirect

  characterization

• Inference

The main problem the character encounters in the story.

The beginning of a story where we learn about setting and some of the characters.

the author tells the reader what a specific character is like.

Author reveals details through a character's actions, dialogue, or internal monologue.

Implied or non-explicit ways in which readers actively add meaning to a text.

• The main problem the character encounters in the story.

• The beginning of a story where we learn about setting and some of the characters.

• the author tells the reader what a specific character is like.

• Author reveals details through a character's actions, dialogue, or internal monologue.

• Implied or non-explicit ways in which readers actively add meaning to a text.