Name:
Read the poem below and answer the questions that follow.
“The Rose That Grew From Concrete” by Tupac Shakur
1 Did you hear about the rose that grew
2
from a crack in the concrete?
3 Proving nature's law is wrong it
4 learned to walk with out having feet.
5 Funny it seems, but by keeping its dreams,
6 it learned to breathe fresh air.
7 Long live the rose that grew from concrete
8 when no one else ever cared.
1. What is literally happening in this poem?
2. What is the figurative meaning in this poem? Hint: What does the rose stand for? What does
the concrete stand for?
3. How does the poem relate to theme of survival?
4. How would you describe the speaker in this poem?
Characterization Notes
EQ: How is ______________________ characterization different from______________________
characterization?
Characterization: How an author chooses to tell you (the reader) about characters
Authors may choose to tell you ______________________ about a character. Or
Authors may give you ______________________ about what the character is like.
Direct characterization
•
The author ______________________ the audience what the personality of the character
is.
•
EX: The patient girl sat quietly while waiting for her mother. What word
describes the girl?
•
EX: Tom’s violent behavior made everyone afraid of him. What word
describes Tom?
Indirect characterization

The author______________________ things that reveal the personality of a character.
Methods of indirect characterization
• S_______________________________________________
• T_______________________________________________
• E_______________________________________________
• A_______________________________________________
• L _______________________________________________
Think about it:
1. What kind of person is the witch?
2. What kind of person is Mindy?
3. What kind of person is Abigail?
4. What kind of person is Renee?
5. What kind of person is Abigail?
Examples of Indirect Characterization:
1. Joe’s friend Tom laughed a lot. He always had a smile on his face. Tom is a ___________
person.
2. Lisa’s little brother hid her skates under the bed. He hid her favorite book. He was always
hiding something from her. He is ________________.
3. David read all the books about the forest that he could find. He also talked with the forest
rangers to learn more. David was ____________________.
Direct or Indirect?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Types of Characters
Flat character
•
•
•
•
Embodies ______________________, easily summarized;
Not complex and thus easily accessible to the reader
Can be stock or stereotype: a character who possesses the expected traits of a group
rather than being an individual
Examples: The nerd, the jock, the princess, the outsider, the bad boy, the wicked witch
Round characters
• Complex and ______________________
• Inconsistent and ______________________
• Hard to ______________________and understand
• Display internal conflicts found in ______________________ people
Static character
• Doesn’t ______________________ as a result of what happens to him in the story;
• The reader’s ______________________ of him does not grow.
Dynamic character
• Undergoes some kind of ______________________ as a result of action in the plot;
• Must be a ______________________ change rather than a mood change.
Summarizer
Give me five facts about characterization: