Character Sketcher

Ragweed

Section 1: p. 1-20

Your job as Character Sketcher is to identify a character’s actions (traits) and explain or prove these traits, identify the character’s goal (which is what the character wants to do or accomplish), identify the problem and solution in the reading, and complete a sketch or illustration of the character.

You need to be aware that the character traits you will choose will be implied character traits. In other words, they are not directly stated in the passage. You really want to use descriptive words for your character traits. You do not want to use words like good, bad, nice, and mean.

Sometimes the solution to your character’s problem will not be in the section of the book that you are reading. In this case, you will need to come up with a possible solution for your character’s problem.

When you begin sketching or illustrating your character, try to use any physical descriptions from the text to help you. Your paper should look like this:

Character Traits (3):

1. Adventurous p. 2 par. 1

In the beginning of the story, Ragweed wants nothing more than to go out and explore the world outside of his home in the Brook. He only wants to see what else the world has to offer, and see if excitement really does exist.

2. Sentimental p. 4 par. 3

Despite Ragweed’s desire to go out and experience the world, his heart has an unassured longing as he is leaving his family behind. Even as he is climbing over the ridge, he looks back at his home, and feels his heart tugging at his mind to return. However, despite his love for his family, he realizes that he must move on in his journey, and hold on to their memories until he returns to the Brook someday.

3. Naïve p. 9 par 6- p. 10 par. 9

When Ragweed is conversing with the vole, he finds out how little he knows about the outside world that he desires to explore. For example, Ragweed has no idea what a city or a railway is, and he has never seen a human or a cat. The only thing that Ragweed gains from the talk with the vole is how exciting the outside world is. Ragweed never realizes that the vole is also trying to warn him of how dangerous it can be too.

Character Goal:

Ragweed’s goal is to go out and explore/experience all that the world has to offer. He want to find out what exists outside of his life in the Brook.

Problem:

Ragweed’s problem is that he is so naïve about his surroundings, and he has no idea where to go or what to do. He is entering into a world that he has no idea how to survive in.

Solution or Possible Solution:

A possible solution for Ragweed is to bust the world wide open. He will never know what the world is all about unless he gets out into the world and explores it. After all, he can always return home if he finds out that he does not enjoy living elsewhere.