Methods of Characterization

It was what was called "make or break" time. Eric fidgeted in his seat at the semi-finals, desperate for the judges to call his name. Would he be picked for the finals? Could he live through waiting to find out? He thought about the other guitarists in the competition and decided he didn't have a chance.

His sister Amber touched his shoulder. "Eric, you've been awesome. You've worked so hard. The judges could hear that. Everyone could."

Eric looked at the floor. "You don't have to say that. But I wouldn't have made it this far without your help."

Before Amber could start to argue, the judges' assistant called, "Eric Daley! You're up."

Eric shot up from his chair and grabbed his guitar. He tried to smile at Amber, but only managed to wince. "May as well get this over with," he said, taking a deep breath.

Which trait best describes Eric?

• pessimistic

• intellectual

• fearful

• arrogant

It was what was called "make or break" time. Eric fidgeted in his seat at the semi-finals, desperate for the judges to call his name. Would he be picked for the finals? Could he live through waiting to find out? He thought about the other guitarists in the competition and decided he didn't have a chance.

His sister Amber touched his shoulder. "Eric, you've been awesome. You've worked so hard. The judges could hear that. Everyone could."

Eric looked at the floor. "You don't have to say that. But I wouldn't have made it this far without your help."

Before Amber could start to argue, the judges' assistant called, "Eric Daley! You're up."

Eric shot up from his chair and grabbed his guitar. He tried to smile at Amber, but only managed to wince. "May as well get this over with," he said, taking a deep breath.

Which of the following words does NOT describe Eric?

• caring

• hard-working

• grateful

• light-hearted

Mr. Hennesy sat on the splintering park bench in his red-checkered jacket. His patchy gray hat sat askew on his bald head, and his thick glasses seemed dirty. "Hello, Mr. Hennesy. How are you today?" Stormy asked as she passed him on her way to the soccer field.

Mr. Hennesy looked up slowly and gave her a crinkled smile. "Ah, my girl," he said in his gravelly voice, "The sun is warm, the bench is firm, the children are laughing, and the adults are running after them. All is well."

the writer of this passage lets readers know what Mr. Hennesy is like through -

• his speech and thoughts

• his appearance and speech

• his thoughts and actions

• Stormy's reaction to him

"Lucy, we need to talk. Now."

Lucy sulked. "Oh, Mom, not this again! Why won't you just let it drop?"

Mrs. Haron frowned. "You know I can't let it drop—this isn't a small issue. You went to the party without my permission. That tells me I can't trust you!"

"Fine, I won't do it again," muttered Lucy. "Can I go upstairs now?"

Mrs. Haron snapped, "No! Sit down. We're going to talk about this before it gets worse."

Based on this passage, readers can infer that Mrs. Haron is -

• easygoing

• lazy

• hateful

• stern

Felicia cleaned her room every day and always kept her desk spotless. A messy room, in Felicia's mind, meant she was messy. If people saw something in her life that was out of order, Felicia just knew they would criticize her.

Felicia even went so far as to arrange all her books from tallest to shortest and in alphabetical order. Sometimes, her mother told her she was obsessed with neatness.

The writer of this passage develops the character of Felicia by using -

• direct characterization

• descriptions of speech and other characters' reactions

• details about thoughts and other characters' reactions

• descriptions of thoughts and appearance

Using direct characterization, a writer -

• reveals a character's traits through direct description

• keeps you guessing about what a character is like

• tells you indirectly what a character is like

• hints at what a character is like