Analysing texts, Year 7: character and setting

What other characters say about them

HintThink of gossip: it is how you get to know someone you have not met.

The whyA character's reputation shapes how we see them before they even appear. It can also turn out to be wrong, which is a method in itself.

Telling

HintNothing is left for the reader to work out.

The whyThe trait is stated outright. Telling is quick and clear, but the reader has to take the writer's word for it.

He is mean with money

HintNotice how reluctant he is to let go.

The whyThe writer never uses a word like 'stingy'. The double counting and the slow slide do the work, and the reader reaches the judgement alone.

It deepens it: the joking hides sadness

HintAsk what the loudness might be covering.

The whyWriters often set up a simple first impression and then complicate it. Tracking the change across chapters is how you read a character, not just a scene.

Characterisation

HintIt names the craft, not the person.

The whyIt covers what a character says and does, how they look, what they think and what others say about them.

setting

HintA film crew scouts locations to find the right one.

The whyIt covers place, time of day, season, weather and historical period. Writers choose each one, so each is worth asking about.

Atmosphere

HintWeather forecasters and storytellers both use this word.

The whyIt is built from choices: the place, the weather, the light, the sounds, and the particular words used to describe them.

Tense and threatening

HintNotice that light and sight are both being taken away.

The why'Pressed' makes the fog sound as though it wants to get in, and 'the last candle guttered' means darkness is close. Both details point the same way.

pathetic fallacy

HintIts first word is related to 'sympathy', not to 'feeble'.

The whyThe outside world seems to share the character's mood: storms for anger, sunshine for hope. It lets a writer show a feeling without naming it.

It becomes eerie and threatening

HintFamiliar places feel different without people or light.

The whyNothing about the place has changed except the time and the absence of people, yet the mood flips. That is how strongly setting controls atmosphere.