Question

Which excerpt from The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street is an example of direct characterization?

Answer 1

The screen door opens and Goodman comes out, a man in his early forties who first greets them smiling and then letting the smile fade as he sees the faces.

Direct characterization is when the author directly tells readers of some trait or characteristic of a character instead of letting readers conclude anything about a character based upon a character’s actions.  If we look at all of the possible answers for this question, all except speak of actions that lead readers to determine characteristics.  One, however, blatantly speaks of how old a person is.  With the words, “a man in his early forties,” the author directly tells readers about the character, thus, the second answer is an example of direct characterization.

Answer 2

The screen door opens and Goodman comes out, a man in his early forties who first greets them smiling and then letting the smile fade as he sees the faces.