【2.2】 Methods of Characterization In presenting and establishing character,an author has two basic methods or techniques at his disposal.One method is telling,which relies on expositions and direct commentary by the author.In telling,the guiding hand of the author is very much in evidence.We learn primarily from what the author explicitly calls to our attention.The other method is indirect,dramatic method of showing,which involves the author's stepping aside,as it were,to allow the characters to reveal themselves directly through their dialogue and their actions.With showing,much of the burden of character analysis is shifted to the reader,who is required to infer character on the basis of the evidence provided in the narrative.However,telling and showing are not mutually exclusive.Neither is one method necessarily superior.Most authors employ a combination of the two,even when the exposition,as in the case of most of Hemingway's stories,is limited to several lines of descriptive detail establishing the scene. Direct Characterization:Telling Direct methods of revealing character---characterization by telling---include the following: Characterization through the use of names Names are often used to provide essential clues that aid in characterization.Some characters are given names that suggest their dominant or controlling traits,as,for example,Young Goodman Brown, the naive young puritan in Hawthorne's story,and Mr.Blanc,the reserved Easterner in Stephen Crane's The Blue Hotel.Other characters are given names that reinforce(or sometimes are in contrast to)their physical appearance,much in the way that Ichabod Crane,the gangling schoolmaster in Washington Irving's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,resembles his long-legged namesake.Names can also contain literary or historical allusions that aid in characterization by means of association,as they obviously do in Woody Allan's The Kugelmass Episode.One must also,of course,be【2.2】 Methods of Characterization In presenting and establishing character, an author has two basic methods or techniques at his disposal. One method is telling, which relies on expositions and direct commentary by the author. In telling, the guiding hand of the author is very much in evidence. We learn primarily from what the author explicitly calls to our attention. The other method is indirect, dramatic method of showing, which involves the author’s stepping aside, as it were, to allow the characters to reveal themselves directly through their dialogue and their actions. With showing, much of the burden of character analysis is shifted to the reader, who is required to infer character on the basis of the evidence provided in the narrative. However, telling and showing are not mutually exclusive. Neither is one method necessarily superior. Most authors employ a combination of the two, even when the exposition, as in the case of most of Hemingway’s stories, is limited to several lines of descriptive detail establishing the scene. Direct Characterization: Telling Direct methods of revealing character---characterization by telling---include the following: Characterization through the use of names Names are often used to provide essential clues that aid in characterization. Some characters are given names that suggest their dominant or controlling traits, as, for example, Young Goodman Brown, the naïve young puritan in Hawthorne’s story, and Mr. Blanc, the reserved Easterner in Stephen Crane’s The Blue Hotel. Other characters are given names that reinforce(or sometimes are in contrast to) their physical appearance, much in the way that Ichabod Crane, the gangling schoolmaster in Washington Irving’s The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, resembles his long-legged namesake. Names can also contain literary or historical allusions that aid in characterization by means of association, as they obviously do in Woody Allan’s The Kugelmass Episode. One must also, of course, be