Paper Towns #2

Paper Towns

Prompt: Direct and Indirect Characterization

Pages Read: 143 - end

In the book Paper Towns by John Green, uses some direct characterization throughout the pages I have read so far. For example on page 159 the book tells "You can argue-indeed, you may argue, if you choose to write about him for your final reaction papers-that Ahab was a fool for being obsessed." Here is an example of direct characterization. This is direct characterization because the book tells you to think that Ahab is a fool for being obsessed. The book is telling what to think of him.

Another example of characterization in the book is on page 170 where the author says "I knew how she smelled, and I knew how she acted in front of me, and I knew how she acted in front of others, and I knew that she liked Mountain Dew and adventure and dramatic gestures, and I knew that she was funny and smart and generally more than the rest of us." This is another example of direct characterization. The author is telling you to think that Margo is a funny and smart. The book is just telling you how to think.

One last example of characterization I found in the book was on page 170 where the text says "I didn't know why she owned thousands of records but never told anyone she even liked music." Here is an example of indirect characterization. The book isn't telling you directly how to think, it is giving you examples of how that character acts and based on that you create your own opinion on that character. In this sentence you can see that this character is a little secretive because she never told anyone she owned thousands of records. This are some examples of direct and indirect characterization in the book Paper Towns.