Name: ____________________________________________

 

Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens

Describe a Character

 

You have selected a character to follow throughout the novel.

 

Name of character: ____________________________________

 

Please identify some unique characteristics which are evident from our reading. On a separate piece of paper please describe the following:

 

Character’s Physical Characteristics: Age, Approximate height and weight,  Posture/walk,  Voice quality (volume, dialect, pitch) with example from text, Hearing, Vision,  Clothing, and anything else that contributes to our mental image of the character.

 

Character’s Personality and Behavior: Assertive or mild-mannered? Pleasant or grouchy? Modest or a braggart? Broad-minded or prejudiced? And anything else which helps us understand what this character’s personality is like.  Give examples.

 

Character’s Personal History:  Education, Occupation, Social level/Class,  Important incidents in life (turning points)

 

Character’s Social Life  Friends,  Enemies, Family,  Involvements with other characters

You must include a picture of your vision of your character.  You may draw the picture yourself, or search the internet for a likeness.  You may also ask yourself if there is a current actor or actress you would cast for the part in the movie or play.   What I am looking for is two pieces of paper: a portrait of the character on one page and on the other, a description in the form of a paragraph or two.  I will distribute construction paper we can use for the “frames” for our portraits.  If you are artistic, I would love to see what you can do, but don’t worry if you are no Rembrandt.  Go ahead and search the internet for good likenesses of your character!  Have fun!  Dickens is known for his panoply of characters.  Let’s make our own portrait gallery of them!