Question

Which technique is the author using in this passage to reveal the character’s traits? Passage from The Grapes of Wrath The driver went on quickly. “I train my mind all the time. I took a course in that two years ago. Now I try to remember everything about people I meet. Kind a clothes, an’ shoes, an’ hat, ‘an how they walk, an’ maybe how tall, an’ what weight, an’ any scars. I do it pretty good. Sometimes I think I ought to take a course to be a fingerprint expert. You’d be surprised how much a guy can remember.”

Answer 1

It is the indirect characterization.

Answer 2

The technique used by the author in this passage is indirect characterization.

Here, the author is showing the reader through dialogue an important trait of his character: he has a very good memory and can remember a great deal about the people he meets.

However, the author is not expresively telling the reader about this characteristic; rather, he is showing it through the character's speech.