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daughter’s personality? It seems clear that she appreciates the clothes and shoes she when her mother accepts this reality only moments later. The daughter’s ability to “see 1
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gets to wear because they are new — in fact, the sadness she experiences when one in her [mother’s] eyes the closing gate” (par. 5) allows readers to make an inference
of her new shoes gets nicked conveys how important they are to her. These details about the daughter’s awareness of others even at such a young age. chapter 1
reveal that new clothing is not an everyday experience for the daughter, and perhaps
they provide some insight into what she values about appearances: clothing shows KEY QUESTIONS
the world who we are and influences how others see us. This attention to
appearances also extends to the world around her — her fearful response to the paper Analyzing Character Section 1 / Elements of Fiction
strewn across the floor at her new school contrasts with others’ apparent lack of • Who are the main characters? Who is the protagonist, and who is the antagonist?
awareness or concern. How do minor characters function in the story?
Analyzing Short Fiction
Similarly, the mother values money, or at least the security it can bring, whether in • What do specific details reveal about characters’ values, beliefs, assumptions,
the form of proper clothing, adequate school supplies, or access to services and biases, and cultural norms?
© Bedford, Freeman & Worth Publishers. For review purposes only. Do not distribute.
opportunities. Finally, the way both mother and daughter interact indicates the close • Are the descriptions and characterizations direct or indirect?
relationship they have. From her recognition of Mt. Carmel Baptist Church as her • How do characters’ relationships with each other inform your understanding of
mother’s “rock,” we know the daughter has a keen sense of what matters to her mom them?
and, therefore, what should matter to her. Her insistence on wearing her mother’s • How do characters change throughout the story?
perfume — which she must trust is behind her ears because she cannot smell it — also • Do you see some characters differently from the way they see themselves?
shows how the daughter’s sense of who she is rests in large part with what her mother
thinks and does.
TRM Suggested Responses
Character Development
Authors can develop characterization either directly or indirectly. Direct characterization Analyzing Character activity Suggested responses to the activity on
this page can be found in the Teacher’s
occurs when a narrator explicitly describes the background, motivation, temperament, Fools Crow, by Great Plains Indian writer James Welch, begins by introducing the Resource Materials.
or appearance of a character. While “The First Day” provides few details about protagonist, White Man’s Dog, who later earns the name Fools Crow. Discuss the direct
the physical descriptions of the characters, there are some details that serve to and indirect methods Welch uses to characterize him in the following passage.
directly characterize the daughter. In two instances, she refers directly to her TRM Annotation Handout
own “whining” (pars. 1 and 2). In the first, the daughter explains that her mother from Fools Crow A student handout for annotating this text
gives in to her requests to wear some of her mother’s perfume. In the second, James Welch can be found in the Teacher’s Resource
she wants to take supplies given to her by the neighbors to school even though Materials.
her mother believes they are unnecessary. The daughter also tells us directly Now that the weather had changed, the moon of White Man’s Dog raised his eyes to the west
she cares so much for Miss Mary and Miss Blondelle that “the the falling leaves turned white in the blackening and followed the Backbone of the World from
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AP TIP women are as precious to [her] as [her] mother and sisters” sky and White Man’s Dog was restless. He chewed south to north until he could pick out Chief DIFFERENTIATION
(par. 2). the stick of dry meat and watched Cold Maker Mountain. It stood a little apart from the other
While main characters are gather his forces. The black clouds moved in the mountains, not as tall as some but strong, its
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often great subjects for AP Indirect characterization occurs when an author requires the Scaffolding
Prose Fiction Analysis audience to infer what a character is like through what the character north in circles, their dance a slow deliberate square granite face a landmark to all who
Essays, don’t forget to says, does, or thinks, or what others say about the character. fury. It was almost night, and he looked back passed. But it was more than a landmark to the Remind students of the importance of
consider minor characters. Edward P. Jones uses indirect characterization in “The First Day” to down into the flats along the Two Medicine Pikunis, Kainahs, and Siksikas, the three tribes effectively annotating a text. Ask them
If you can identify enough River. The lodges of the Lone Eaters were of the Blackfeet, for it was on top of Chief to go through this passage and label
evidence to sustain a line emphasize how perceptive the daughter is of other peoples’ shifting illuminated by cooking fires within. It was that Mountain that the blackhorn skull pillows of the sections where White Man’s Dog is
of reasoning about a minor attitudes without the daughter explicitly telling us about her ability. time of evening when even the dogs rest and the great warriors still lay. On those skulls Eagle criticized. Each time they highlight part of
character, your essay is For example, the daughter perceives her mother’s reluctance to the text, they should label it as either direct
more likely to have a fresh, believe the staff member at Seaton Elementary who insists her the horses graze undisturbed along the grassy Head and Iron Breast had dreamed their visions
original voice. banks. in the long-ago, and the animal helpers had or indirect characterization.
daughter has to go to Walker-Jones, and the daughter also notices
(continued)
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BUILDING CONTEXT
Before students begin this activity, review the
direct and indirect methods that help convey
a character’s traits. If students need further
help, compile two separate lists on the board
so that students can refer to them as they
complete this task.

chapter 1 / Elements of Fiction 7

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