A Scavenger Hunt for Qualities Discovering a character's qualities is like a scavenger hunt. They are never just given. There are many ways to discover a character's qualities. Appearance, actions and how others feel about the character are examples of indirect characterization. In Langston Hughs’ short story “ Thank You M’am” hughs uses indirect characterization to analyze Mrs. Jones character. Appearance can make a reader judge a character, and get an understanding of their personality. For example, when the reader sees the line, “ she was a large women. With a large purse with everything except a hammer and nails” (120). The reader can come up with some sort of judgement like, because she is a large woman she is probably not one to mess with. Based on the description of her purse she seems well prepared and mature. Another appearance description is her large kitchenette furnished room (120). The large kitchen must be for cooking for guests, like the boy she brought home that evening. The furnished portion of the room is probably a living room to visit with guests. Remember, appearance is only one of many ways that we can use to understand the character of a person. …show more content…
Jones actions also reveal her character. In this sentence, “ then it will get washed this evening”, she gives off a sense of care and desire to help the young boy (122). This boy just tried to steal from her, but she has the heart ti teach him a lesson and help him get cleaned up. Another example comes from a part in the short story when the boy was at her house. “ The door was open he could make a dash for it down the hall”, Mrs. Jones did not care if he ran, she was only going to help him, and if he did not want her offerings, so be it (123). She also seems like she is confident that the woy will trust her and the fact that she only wants to help him. Actions and appearance can hint to the reader about the character, and their