Ron Hansen’s Use of Characterization in “My Kid’s Dog” Essay

Character Analysis What is characterization and why is it so important? Characterization is the building of a character through their description and how they react to their environment. The description of characters in a story is important and helps the reader connect and get a better sense of the character. In William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily”, he reinforces the characterization of Miss Emily’s dominate and mysterious traits through images of her almost tyrannical father and by her own arrogant and controlling actions.

Characterisation is important in any short story as it helps to make the story that little bit more appealing, because it’s a short story, it is important to get the characterisation right as we don’t have hundreds of pages to learn about the character, in fact we only really have a page or two, maybe even less depending on the story, we might only have paragraphs to learn about the character. When looking at characterisation in the short story, you have too keep in mind, which character catches your eye? Is it the main character? Is it a supporting character? Why do they appeal to you? How does the author of the short story portray and reveal the character? The idea of characterisation is literally an act of describing certain characteristics,

Characters are a vital element of fiction; without them, a story falls apart because the readers are forced to only focus on its plot, setting, or other aspects of fiction. Characterization is the process in which the author describes the distinctive nature or features of a particular character. A character is often characterized by their own dialogue, actions, thoughts, appearance, and interpretation by the author or by other characters in the story. Through these methods, an author can really bring their characters to life for the reader. In “My Kid’s Dog,” Ron Hansen uses these methods to bring all his characters to life. He portrays the strained relationship an owner has with his ‘daughter’s’ pet dog, and the difficulties overcoming his hardships. Through methods of characterization, Hansen unveils the friction between the dad and the dog and allows the reader to empathize with them, incorporating humor throughout the story, as well.

The piece ends with the narrator informing his youngest daughter of Sparky’s untimely death and the reveal of the dog’s revenge. After the narrator observes his crying daughter, Hansen concludes, “And that was Sparky’s final revenge, for I said, ‘Okay, honey. Another dog, just like him (250).’”

In the Bedford Introduction to Literature, Characterization is defined as "... the process by which a writer makes that character seem real to the reader"(2126). In order to do this a writer has multiple tools at their disposal that add to the depth of a character and simplify roles in a story. This includes the use of Protagonists and Antagonists, static and dynamic characters, showing and telling, and motivated and plausible action, as well as many others. The short story "Miss Brill" by Katherine Mansfield is no exception to this and displays the main character of Miss Brill as the protagonist, who is confronted with the reality of her existence.

Often times, people view individuals by the way they handle situations and their responses to others. Every character in a story can be summed up in about three to four characteristics based on their actions and speech. In the short story “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst, the narrator reveals his true character through the way he treats his younger brother. He possesses characteristics including authority, pride, and cruelty, and readers know these traits through Hurst’s dialogue and actions.

When discussing his feelings toward his dog, he creates both a connection and a disconnection with readers. To connect with the readers, he provides insight into the development of the relationship between him – someone not fond of dogs – and his new puppy, sharing his emotions with the audience. However, he creates a void between readers and himself by proclaiming that the dog is inferior to humans, citing her “lack of intelligence,” potentially offending canine-loving readers (Foer 23).

Characterization is the concept of creating characters for a narrative.. Characters in literature sometimes make dramatic transformations. In a Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, the character Scrooge dramatically changes his attitude about Christmas. In Stave 1, Dickens establishes Scrooge’s character as someone who is stingy and selfish. On page 3, it states,” Nobody ever stopped him in the street to say, with gladsome looks, “My dear Scrooge, how are you? When will you come to see me?” As the book stated, everyone in the neighborhood knew Scrooge was selfish and looked like an old grump. On page 3, it quotes, “No beggars implored him to bestow a trifle, no children asked him what it was o’clock, no man or woman ever once in all his life inquired the way to such and such a place, of

Character can be defined as the combination of qualities or features that distinguishes one person, group, or thing from another.  Authors usually embrace a distinct choice of personality on a character to make them stand out in a story.  In "A & P" by John Updike, Sammy starts off as a young man discontent with his ordinary adult surroundings and moves to his need to change it. Throughout the story, Sammy describes and interprets the scenes around him, consequently revealing his own character, by which can be related through the use of Thomas Chou's Ennegram, to distinguish his personality type.

When an author writes a first person narrative with round characterization, it helps the readers know the characters personality and perspective on specific situations. Round characterization helps readers know the thoughts and feelings going on inside the character's head. It can also build suspense by the character telling the reader specifically what they are thinking. In addition, round characterization allows the reader to become knowledgeable of the characters motives. Jamie McGuire develops first person narration and round characters throughout her story “Walking Disaster” so a connection is developed with the characters and reader.

A compelling story is composed of memorable characters. The characters of a story must be vivid, alive, and believable in order to capture the attention of the reader. Thus, characterization, which is how authors convey information about their characters, is pertinent in the development of the short story. Within characterization, there are two forms: direct, where the author or narrator tells the readers what a character is like or indirect, in which the author shows what a character is like through their actions, speech, or thoughts. The type of characterization also depends on the point of view of the story.

Characterization is an important element in our Language Arts curricula. It helps the reader get a better understanding of the characters and their mental traits. An good example of where characterization can be used is in the short story "Lamb to the Slaughter". Written by Roald Dahl. In this short story, we are introduced to the character "Mary Maloney". At the beginning, Mary is known for being a warm, caring and loving wife to her husband "Patrick Maloney". But by the end we know that is not the case. Mary turns out to be the opposite. A cold, no hearted murderer. She changes from being a loving wife, to a manipulative and unstable woman. As you can probably tell, Mary Maloney is a very clever, courageous and manipulative character. To

What is characterization? It is defined as the portrayal of a fictional character. Although not fictional in the least, Christianity is a strong character, with a profound influence that takes a form of many different characters in Uncle Tom’s Cabin. From the hypocritical, fraudulent, self-absorbed, wholly indifferent, so called Christians, like Marie St. Claire; to the professed non-Christians who have turned their backs on God and all that he is and represents, like Cassie. Finally there are the genuine, soul encompassing, and gut wrenchingly faithful Christians like Uncle Tom and Eva. No book ever read from this writer has ever had such a profound effect on his soul (save for the bible) as this book.

To view a story as reliable and verifiable it is important for the author to actively use characterization to describe and develop it’s characters. Ellena Ferrante creates a good sense of depth in all her characters description in the nover My Brilliant Friend. The same style is used by John Williams in his book Stoner, providing the reader with general knowledge about the character and his actions. Both authors create a good sense of depth in their main characters: Lenu and Stoner. The ultimate goal when creating a character is to make them seem alive, interesting but also realistic this wouldn’t be possible to reach without the help of characterization. Characterizatin is set up into behaviour, thoughts and appearance which are the three main layers creating characterization. This creates an understandable enviroment for the

Now that you’ve reviewed plot structure and conflict, let’s look at character. A character is any person, animal, or figure represented in a literary work. If you’re discussing a fictional text, you need to be able to formally discuss character. Like conflict, characters are essential to a story: An author can’t create conflict without characters.