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2. Characterization
a. Meaning of Characterization
In a story, one character has a different personality from another. Even twins are not merely the same. There must be some particular personalities that can
differentiate one from another. In a literary work, the way to understand each character better is through characterization. According to Redman’s A Second Book
of Plays, characterization is the development of a character through what he says and does and through what other characters say about him Redman 363. Through
characterization, the author of a literary work uses some methods to portray the character in the story.
b. Methods of Characterization
According to Murphy in Understanding Unseen: An Introduction to English Poetry and the English Novel for Overseas Students there are nine methods which
can describe how an author conveys the characters and the personalities in the story so that the readers can understand them 161-173. They are as follows.
1 Personal Description
The author describes a person’s appearance and clothes. The readers can get the details image, for example the skin, hair, eyes, and face in an accurate description
Murphy 161. 2
Characters as seen by another character The author describes the character through the eyes and opinions of another.
The reader gets it, as it were, a reflected image Murphy 162. PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
11 3
Speech The author can give us an insight into the character of one of the persons in
the book through what that person says. Whenever a person speaks, whenever he is in conversation with another, whenever he puts forward an opinion, he is giving us
some clues to his character Murphy 164. 4
Past life By letting the reader learn something about a person’s past life the author can
give us a clue to events that have helped to shape a person’s character. This can be done by direct comment by the author, through the person’s thoughts, through his
conversation or through the medium of another person Murphy 166. 5
Conversation of others The author gives us clues to a person’s character through the conversations of
other people and the things they say about him Murphy 167. 6
Reactions The author gives us a clue to a person’s character by letting us know how that
person reacts to various situations and events Murphy 168. 7
Direct Comment The author describes or comments on a person’s character directly Murphy
170. 8
Thought The author gives us direct knowledge of what a person is thinking about. In
this respect, he is able to do what we cannot do in real life. he can tell us what different people are thinking Murphy 171.
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