Character Descriptions

Character Descriptions

Here are some exemplar character descriptions from real books to show you how to make the character come alive. 

Harry Potter- ‘Harry Potter’

Harry had always been small and skinny for his age… Harry had a thin face, knobbly knees, black hair and bright green eyes. He wore round glasses held together with a lot of cellotape because of all the times Dudley had punched him in the nose. The only thing Harry liked about his appearance was a very thin scar on his forehead which was shaped like a bolt of lightning.

 

Mrs Pratchett- ‘Boy’

Her name was Mrs. Pratchett.  She was a small skinny old hag with a moustache on her upper lip and a mouth as sour as a green gooseberry.  She never smiled.  She never welcomed us when we went in.  By far the most loathsome thing about Mrs. Pratchett was the filth that clung about her.  Her apron was grey and greasy.  Her blouse had bits of breakfast all over it, toast crumbs and tea stains and splotches of dried egg yolk.  It was her hands , however, that disturbed us most.  They were disgusting.  They were black with dirt and grime.  They looked as though they had been putting lumps of coal on the fire all day long.  The mere sight of her grimy right hand with its black fingernails digging an ounce of Chocolate Fudge out of the jar would have caused a starving tramp to go running from the shop.

 

Calpurnica- ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’

She was all angles and bones; she was nearsighted; she squinted; her hand was wide as a bed slat and twice as hard. She was always ordering me out of the kitchen, asking me why I couldn't behave as well as Jem when she knew he was older, and calling me home when I wasn't ready to come. Our battles were epic and one-sided. Calpurnia always won, mainly because Atticus always took her side. She had been with us ever since Jem was born, and I had felt her tyrannical presence as long as I could remember.