der of a story stands in
the position of an observer of certain persons. Their mannerisms of
speech, which come to him through the ear, serve to build up his total
impression of them as much as their physical appearance, which comes to
him through the eye.

The process of characterization, then, however accomplished, is the
result of two very different aims on the part of the writer of a story.
The first aim is to show the essential natures of the people of the
fiction, and may be attained by illustration in action, by direct
statement, and by transcribing their speech. The second aim is to make
them appear real men and women, apart from their natures, and may be
attained by description--which is direct statement--by transcribing
their speech, and even by action. In all three matters of narration,
description, and dialogue the double process may go on. Narrating a
character's victorious fight with a bigger man will leave on a reader a
twin impression of the person's strength--a physical attribute--and
courage--an attribute more strictly of character. When Stevenson,
describing Villon, states that the wolf and pig struggled in his face, a
reader is made to see the cruel sensuality of the man's face as a
physical object, and to feel the cruel sensuality of his nature as a
spiritual fact. If an avaricious character is made to make a miserly
speech, a reader will have a clue to his nature; if he is made to make
it with a lisp or stutter, there will be a descriptive touch as well.
Characterization may be accomplished by narration, by description, and
by dialogue, and characterization, as the term is commonly used,
includes the description of persons as physical objects as well as the
strict portrayal of character.

The writer of fiction who seeks to acquire the technique of
characterization should note two facts. The sort of characterization
which consists in displaying the essential spiritual natures of the
people of a story is largely a matter of plot, of the sequence and
character of each person's actions. If the writer states that John is
miserly, and puts miserly words on his lips, the reader will never
believe in John's avarice if he does a generous thing in the story.
Actions speak louder than words. A reader will believe in John's avarice
from the writer's mere statement and John's words, if John's actions are
not significant adversely to the trait. In other words, personality and
event must have true relation, on