Question

Which sentence in this excerpt from Mark Twain’s short story “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” is an example of direct characterization?
I found Simon Wheeler dozing comfortably by the barroom stove of the old, dilapidated tavern in the ancient mining camp of Angel's, and I noticed that he was fat and bald-headed, and had an expression of winning gentleness and simplicity upon his tranquil countenance. He roused up and gave me good-day. I told him a friend of mine had commissioned me to make some inquiries about a cherished companion of his boyhood named Leonidas W. Smiley — Rev. Leonidas W. Smiley — a young minister of the Gospel, who he had heard was at one time a resident of Angel's Camp. I added, that, if Mr. Wheeler, could tell me anything about this Rev. Leonidas W. Smiley, I would feel under many obligations to him.


Simon Wheeler backed me into a corner and blockaded me there with his chair, and then sat me down and reeled off the monotonous narrative which follows this paragraph.

Answer 1

Direct Characterization tells the readers about the personality of the character. So look for personality traits like adjectives that describe this character. You can also look for a direct nod to one of the character's traits, hobbies, etc.

Answer 2

Answer:

The sentence is "and I noticed that he was fat and bald-headed, and had an expression of winning gentleness and simplicity upon his tranquil countenance."

Explanation:

Direct characterization happens when an author describes a character through descriptive adjectives or phrases. That means, instead of hinting what the character is like through their actions and behavior, the author describes them in a straightforward manner. That happens in the following sentence extracted from the excerpt we are analyzing here:

[...] and I noticed that he was fat and bald-headed, and had an expression of winning gentleness and simplicity upon his tranquil countenance.