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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
 1
 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
 ®
 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
 ®
 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






          02_SheaTEL&C3e_40437_ch01_001_053.indd   7                                                                   18/02/22   1:40 PM
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