"The school bus wheezes to my corner. The door opens and I step up. I am the first pickup of the day. The driver pulls away from the curb while I stand in the aisle. Where to sit? I’ve never been as backseat wastecase. If I sit in the middle, a stranger could sit next to me. If I sit in the front, it will make me look like a little kid, but I figure it’s the best chance I have to make eye contact with one of my friends, if any of them have decided to talk to me yet.

The bus picks up students in groups of four or five. As they walk down the aisle, people who were my middle-school lab partners or gym buddies glare at me. I close my eyes. This is what I’ve been dreading. As we leave the last stop, I am the only person sitting alone."

Melinda's thoughts characterize her as...

Read the following excerpt and decide if it is an example of direct or indirect characterization. “The old man was thin and gaunt with deep wrinkles in the back of his neck… Everything about him was old except his eyes and they were the same color as the sea and were cheerful and undefeated” (Hemingway).

Read the excerpt and decide if it is an example of direct or indirect characterization. “Not even his wife was allowed to have a key, for Judson Webb loved his personal possessions and felt a sense of deep outrage if they were touched by any hand but his own” (de Mille, para. 2).

Read the excerpt and decide if it is an example of direct or indirect characterization. " ‘Ivan is an incredibly strong fellow,’ remarked the general, ‘but he has the misfortune to be deaf and dumb. A simple fellow, but, I’m afraid, like all his race, a bit of a savage’ " (Connell).

Read the excerpt and decide if it is an example of direct or indirect characterization. “Mr. Bingley was good-looking and gentlemanlike; he had a pleasant countenance, and easy, unaffected manners. … he was discovered to be proud, to be above his company, and above being pleased; and not all his large estate in Derbyshire could then save him from having a most forbidding, disagreeable countenance, and being unworthy to be compared with his friend" (Austen).

Read the excerpt and decide if it is an example of direct or indirect characterization. "[Mrs. Dubose] spent most of each day in bed and the rest of it in a wheelchair. It was rumored that she kept a CSA pistol concealed among her numerous shawls and wraps. Jem and I hated her. If she was on the porch when we passed, we would be raked by her wrathful gaze..." (Lee).

Read the character description and decide what character type they are.

Jay Gatsby was born into a poor, modest family and was drafted into the war. When he returned he had lost the love of his life, but gained motivation to become wealthy. In his efforts to win back his love, he throws lavish parties and pretends he fits into the "old money" society.

Read the excerpt and decide how to describe the character.

Gaston from Beauty and the Beast is a big strong brute who thinks he deserves everything because of his strength. He consistently pushes other people around and does whatever he wants without consequences. Throughout the whole story, he tries to win the love of Belle, but is unsuccessful because she does not fall for his rude personality.

Read the excerpt and decide how to describe the character.

Romeo Montague is an impulsive teenager who falls in love with a new girl often. He is impulsive and does not think through his decisions. This inability to learn from his mistakes leads to his demise.

Read the excerpt and decide how to describe the character.

Harry Potter is a normal teenage boy who is often overlooked by the people around him. No one at home cares about him or thinks he is special. One day, he finds out that he is actually destined to become a powerful wizard. Once he accepts this path, he becomes one of the most important wizards at Hogwarts.