The Character Analysis Handbook

How to Identify and Understand Characterization in Fiction

Introduction

When you read a great story, the plot might pull you along — but it’s the characters who stay with you. They make us laugh, make us angry, and sometimes break our hearts. In literature, understanding how characters are built and presented is key to understanding the work as a whole.

This handbook will help you identify characterization in fiction — the techniques writers use to bring fictional people to life — and give you tools for deeper analysis. Whether you’re reading a classic novel or a contemporary short story, being able to spot and interpret characterization will deepen your understanding and appreciation of the text.

Click here to see a short video that is related to this information.

What Is Characterization?

Characterization is the process an author uses to create and develop a character. It’s how a writer transforms a name on a page into someone who feels real — with a personality, desires, fears, and flaws.

There are two main types of characterization:

• Direct Characterization – The author tells the reader what a character is like.
  Example: “Maria was generous and kind, always ready to help a neighbor.”
• Indirect Characterization – The author shows the character’s traits through their actions, dialogue, thoughts, appearance, and interactions with others.
  Example: Maria quietly slips a $20 bill into her struggling neighbor’s mailbox without saying a word.

Good writers often blend these approaches, letting us both see and hear about the character in ways that make them vivid and believable.

The Role of Characterization in Fiction

Characterization isn’t just about creating “interesting people” — it’s about building the emotional and thematic core of the story. Here’s why it matters:

• Drives the plot: The choices characters make push the story forward. Hamlet’s indecision, for example, shapes every turn of Shakespeare’s tragedy.
• Creates emotional connection: Readers care more when they understand a character’s motives and struggles.
• Reveals themes: The way a character changes (or fails to change) often reflects the story’s deeper meaning.
• Builds authenticity: Strong characterization makes fictional worlds believable, even if they’re far removed from reality.

Tools for Identifying Characterization

When you’re reading fiction and trying to analyze characters, you’ll want to pay attention to several key elements. A good way to remember them is with the acronym S.T.E.A.L., which stands for:

• Speech – What does the character say, and how do they say it?
• Thoughts – What private thoughts or feelings does the narrator reveal?
• Effects on Others – How do other characters react to them?
• Actions – What do they do, and what choices do they make?
• Looks – How are they described physically, and what does their appearance suggest?

By tracking these clues, you can piece together a full picture of who the character is — often without the author directly telling you.

Types of Characters

Part of identifying characterization is understanding what “kind” of character you’re dealing with. Some common categories:

• Protagonist: The main character whose journey we follow.
• Antagonist: The character (or force) opposing the protagonist.
• Major Characters: Characters who play significant roles in the story’s events.
• Minor Characters: Supporting characters who contribute to the setting, plot, or theme.
• Dynamic Characters: Characters who change in significant ways over the course of the story.
• Static Characters: Characters who remain essentially the same from beginning to end.
• Round Characters: Well-developed, with complex personalities and motivations.
• Flat Characters: Simple, often defined by a single trait or role.

It’s important to note that “flat” doesn’t necessarily mean “badly written” — some stories deliberately use flat characters for symbolic or functional purposes.

Steps to Analyze a Character

When tasked with a character analysis, here’s a step-by-step approach that works well in both academic and personal reading:

1. Identify the Character’s Role
   Is this the protagonist, antagonist, or a supporting role? Knowing this will help you understand their importance.
2. Gather Direct and Indirect Evidence
   Highlight passages where the author describes the character outright, and note moments where characterization comes through actions or dialogue.
3. Consider Motivation and Goals
   What does the character want? How badly do they want it? How does this desire shape their actions?
4. Look for Change or Consistency
   Does the character grow or learn something by the end? Or do they stay the same? What does that tell you about the story’s message?
5. Connect to Theme
   How does the character’s journey reinforce or challenge the story’s main ideas?

Examples of Characterization

A few quick examples can help illustrate how this works:

• Elizabeth Bennet in Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen uses both direct description (“lively, playful disposition”) and indirect cues (Elizabeth’s witty banter and independent thinking) to develop her as intelligent, principled, and sometimes stubborn.
• Jay Gatsby in The Great Gatsby – F. Scott Fitzgerald builds Gatsby’s character through mystery, reputation, and glimpses into his longing for Daisy. His lavish parties and secretive background reveal ambition, romantic idealism, and vulnerability.
• Okonkwo in Things Fall Apart – Chinua Achebe reveals Okonkwo through his actions, fears, and relationship to tradition. His pride and fear of weakness drive the plot and highlight cultural and generational tensions.

Why This Skill Matters

Being able to identify characterization in fiction does more than help you write a good essay — it strengthens your ability to:

• Recognize bias and perspective in real-world narratives.
• Understand how storytelling shapes public opinion.
• Appreciate different cultural and historical contexts in literature.
• Engage more deeply with the texts you read, making literature a more personal and rewarding experience.

Practice Exercise

Choose a short story or chapter from a novel you’re currently reading.

1. Identify the protagonist and one supporting character.
2. Write down three examples of direct characterization for each.
3. Write down three examples of indirect characterization for each, using S.T.E.A.L.
4. Reflect: What do these examples tell you about the character’s personality, motivations, and possible role in the story’s themes?

Doing this regularly will make character analysis second nature.

Characterization is the heartbeat of fiction. Without well-crafted characters, even the most exciting plot can feel hollow. By learning to identify how authors bring characters to life — through speech, thoughts, actions, appearance, and the responses of others — you’ll not only do well in literature classes, but you’ll also become a sharper, more insightful reader in every part of your life.

Sources

Become A Writer Today. “Direct And Indirect Characterization: Painting Characters.” Become A Writer Today, 2023, becomeawritertoday.com/direct-and-indirect-characterization/. Accessed 13 Aug. 2025.

“Characterization.” Wikipedia, last updated July 2025, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Characterization. Accessed 13 Aug. 2025.

Indiana University Pressbooks. “Characterization – Prose Fiction.” IU Pressbooks, Indiana University, n.d., iu.pressbooks.pub/prosefiction/chapter/chapter-4-characterization/. Accessed 13 Aug. 2025.

LiteraryTerms.net. “Characterization: Definitions and Examples.” Literary Terms, 2019, literaryterms.net/characterization/. Accessed 13 Aug. 2025.

Bookish Bay. “Character Analysis: Protagonists and Antagonists Explored.” Bookish Bay, 2024, bookishbay.com/character-analysis/. Accessed 13 Aug. 2025.