Examples of how appearance adds to characterization.

1.  Edgar Allan Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado."

Fortunato
  • "He had been drinking much" (7).  In short, he is drunk.
    • What does this say about his character?  What does this do for the plot?
  • "The man wore motley.  He had on a tight-fitting parti-striped dress, and his head was surmounted by the conical cap and bells" (7).
    • He is dressed as a jester, a fool.  What does this say about his character?  Is it appropriate dress?
  • "The gait of my friend was unsteady" (8).
    • Again, he is drunk.  How reasonable is a drunk person?
 Montresor
  • "putting on a mask of black silk and drawing a [knee-length cloak] closely about my person" (8).
    • What is this costume?  Who wears a mask and a cloak?  Other characters in literature wear this outfit?  What does this say about Montresor's character?
    • That Montresor would wear this to a murder says something about his thinking.  How does this costume add to the plot or characterization of Montresor?

     

After you list the qualities, you want to really think about why the author has given the characters these appearances. 

If you were going to write a story about a man who is pushed around by his wife, would describe the character as having thick black hair, strong masculine hands, broad shoulders, and a deep voice?  Or would describe the character as having a bald head, dainty hands, and a squeaky voice?

You probably would make the character bald with small hands and a weak voice.

Dark hair, muscular build, strong hands, and a deep voice can be external strengths that the author is using to represent the inner strength of the character.

Look at appearance and try to think of stereotypes of those characteristics.  For example, what does blonde hair mean in our society? 

NOTE:  An author might make a character behave differently than we would assume.  This is done for a reason also, and it is a good quality of the story to analyze.

 

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