Read the excerpt from Adam's personal narrative. I stepped into the tidal pool carefully, wishing I had brought my water shoes.
"What's the matter, afraid of a few crabs?" Laura smiled. "It doesn't hurt that much when they pinch. They're only little," she said. Laura wasn't afraid of anything, or at least I'd never seen her get scared. She was the type to dive off a cliff and not even think about what was in the water below. "But there are so many of them!" I winced. "I know, it’s so cool!" she replied, scooping a crab into her hand to look at it more closely. I nearly screamed. How does this paragraph develop the characters in the dialogue? It explains to the reader where the characters are and what they are doing. It shows that Adam is afraid of what is in the water, but Laura is fearless and likes to tease him. It shows that Adam is interested in learning more about the crabs, but Laura is ignoring him. It explains to the reader how long Adam and Laura have known each other.
This paragraph develops the characters in the dialogue by showing that Adam is afraid of what is in the water, but Laura is fearless and likes to tease him.
This text is providing characterization by telling the reader how differently the two characters react to their environment in a narrative of events.
Adam is shown as fearful through indirect characterization:
"stepped ... carefully;"
"winced;"
"nearly screamed."
On the other hand, Laura is directly described by the narrator as someone who "wasn't afraid of anything." Other hints from the text signal to the reader that she is enthusiastic and adventurous:
"She was the type to dive off a cliff and not even think about what was in the water below;"
"it’s so cool!"
Her "scooping a crab into her hand" and bringing it closer to her face is what is interpreted by the narrator as teasing, because Laura is gently mocking his fears by showing how close you can get to what Adam perceives as a danger.
