Dialogue and Character Development

Directions: Read the excerpt from a play. Then, answer the question. Marcus: So, are you ready for Saturday or what? Keith: Saturday? What’s Saturday? Marcus: What’s Saturday? Are you serious? The concert! I got the tickets! Keith: Man, I told you I had to work on Saturday—it’s our busiest day at the hospital. I said I could go on Friday. Marcus: Yeah, I know, but there were no tickets for Friday. So, I got these for Saturday. Just call in sick or something. Who cares? No big deal. Keith: I can’t just call in sick. I’m a vet tech. People and animals are depending on me. And we’re understaffed. Look, I know you really want to go to the concert, and I’m sorry. I want to go, too. [shakes his head] But I can’t. [pauses, thinking] Wait—don’t you have to work on Saturday? Marcus: Yeah, but I’m blowing off my job. [pauses; turns to leave] Dude, whatever. I knew you cared more about that job than me. I’ll just go with somebody else. What does the dialogue reveal about Marcus?

• He gets the days of the week confused.

• He is clever.

• He is irresponsible.

• He is responsible.

Tags

CCSS.RL.8.3

CCSS.RL.2.6

Directions: Read the excerpt from a play. Then, answer the question. Marcus: So, are you ready for Saturday or what? Keith: Saturday? What’s Saturday? Marcus: What’s Saturday? Are you serious? The concert! I got the tickets! Keith: Man, I told you I had to work on Saturday—it’s our busiest day at the hospital. I said I could go on Friday. Marcus: Yeah, I know, but there were no tickets for Friday. So, I got these for Saturday. Just call in sick or something. Who cares? No big deal. Keith: I can’t just call in sick. I’m a vet tech. People and animals are depending on me. And we’re understaffed. Look, I know you really want to go to the concert, and I’m sorry. I want to go, too. [shakes his head] But I can’t. [pauses, thinking] Wait—don’t you have to work on Saturday? Marcus: Yeah, but I’m blowing off my job. [pauses; turns to leave] Dude, whatever. I knew you cared more about that job than me. I’ll just go with somebody else. What does the dialogue reveal about Keith?

• He takes his responsibilities seriously.

• He doesn’t like Marcus.

• He doesn’t want to go to the concert.

• He regrets that Marcus got the tickets.

Tags

CCSS.RL.8.3

CCSS.RL.2.6

Directions: Read the excerpt from a play. Then, answer the question. Marcus: So, are you ready for Saturday or what? Keith: Saturday? What’s Saturday? Marcus: What’s Saturday? Are you serious? The concert! I got the tickets! Keith: Man, I told you I had to work on Saturday—it’s our busiest day at the hospital. I said I could go on Friday. Marcus: Yeah, I know, but there were no tickets for Friday. So, I got these for Saturday. Just call in sick or something. Who cares? No big deal. Keith: I can’t just call in sick. I’m a vet tech. People and animals are depending on me. And we’re understaffed. Look, I know you really want to go to the concert, and I’m sorry. I want to go, too. [shakes his head] But I can’t. [pauses, thinking] Wait—don’t you have to work on Saturday? Marcus: Yeah, but I’m blowing off my job. [pauses; turns to leave] Dude, whatever. I knew you cared more about that job than me. I’ll just go with somebody else. What does Marcus’s line “I knew you cared more about that job than me.” (line 7) show you about his personality?

• Marcus is afraid of Keith.

• Marcus can be selfish and rude.

• Marcus doesn’t care about his own job.

• Marcus understands why Keith has to work.

Tags

CCSS.RL.8.3

CCSS.RL.2.6

Directions: Read the excerpt from a play. Then, answer the question. Marcus: So, are you ready for Saturday or what? Keith: Saturday? What’s Saturday? Marcus: What’s Saturday? Are you serious? The concert! I got the tickets! Keith: Man, I told you I had to work on Saturday—it’s our busiest day at the hospital. I said I could go on Friday. Marcus: Yeah, I know, but there were no tickets for Friday. So, I got these for Saturday. Just call in sick or something. Who cares? No big deal. Keith: I can’t just call in sick. I’m a vet tech. People and animals are depending on me. And we’re understaffed. Look, I know you really want to go to the concert, and I’m sorry. I want to go, too. [shakes his head] But I can’t. [pauses, thinking] Wait—don’t you have to work on Saturday? Marcus: Yeah, but I’m blowing off my job. [pauses; turns to leave] Dude, whatever. I knew you cared more about that job than me. I’ll just go with somebody else. Which of the following actions later in the play would show that Marcus has changed and matured?

• Marcus and Keith meet, and Marcus tells Keith how great the concert was.

• Marcus and Keith meet, and Marcus apologizes to Keith.

• Marcus and Keith meet, and Marcus tells Keith that he was fired from his job.

• Marcus and Keith meet, and Marcus says Keith was a fool for not going to the concert.

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CCSS.RL.8.3

CCSS.RL.5.3

CCSS.RL.6.3

CCSS.RL.7.3

CCSS.RL.9-10.3

Read the following excerpt from a play. Two friends, Caleb and Maria, are lost in the woods during a hike. Caleb says, “[looking down at his smartphone; shakes his head] Still no signal … I’ll keep trying.” Later, he says, “[anxiously] Maria, what are we gonna do? It’s getting dark out here, and we have no idea where we are!” and then, “[frantically] Oh, no! … If we try to back-track, it will be dark long before we get there!” Based on this dialogue, what does the conversation reveal about Caleb?

• He becomes anxious and panicked when he feels lost and uncertain.

• He remains calm and confident while navigating unfamiliar trails.

• He is indifferent to the situation and prefers to rest instead of solving it.

• He treats the situation as a joke and tries to amuse Maria.

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CCSS.RL.8.3

CCSS.RL.2.6

Read the following excerpt from a play. Two friends, Caleb and Maria, are lost in the woods during a hike. Maria responds, “Don’t bother. You’ll just run the battery low. I really doubt we’ll get a signal here in the valley.” She adds, “[calmly] Don’t worry. We’re gonna be just fine. [looking at her map] I’ve got a pretty good idea of where we are,” and, “[remaining calm] We’ll get up to that ridge before dark … There’s an emergency shelter up there.” Based on this dialogue, what does the conversation reveal about Maria?

• She stays calm, uses the map, and takes charge by making a sensible plan.

• She is just as panicked as Caleb and cannot think of any next steps.

• She ignores safety concerns and insists they keep back-tracking in the dark.

• She refuses to make decisions and waits for outside help to arrive.

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CCSS.RL.8.3

CCSS.RL.2.6

At the end of the scene, Maria tells Caleb, “We’ll be okay—I promise!” given that they are lost and she has just proposed getting to a ridge with an emergency shelter before dark. Why does she say this, and what does this line reveal about her?

• She is reassuring Caleb and showing steady leadership and support.

• She is teasing Caleb to lighten the mood without offering a plan.

• She says it because she has suddenly found a cell signal and called for help.

• She wants to end the conversation so she can hike alone without Caleb.

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CCSS.RL.8.3

CCSS.RL.5.3

CCSS.RL.6.3

CCSS.RL.7.3

CCSS.RL.4.3

In the play excerpt, several directions appear in brackets, such as “[looking down at his smartphone; shakes his head],” “[anxiously],” “[calmly],” “[looking at her map],” and “[frantically].” How do these stage directions add to the dialogue and help you better understand the characters? Select all that apply.

• They indicate emotions and tone so readers know how lines are spoken.

• They describe actions that clarify what the characters are doing and feeling.

• They provide exact GPS coordinates to locate the characters precisely.

• They tell the audience what colors the characters are wearing.

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CCSS.RL.8.3

CCSS.RL.2.6