How To Introduce Characters By Showing, Not Telling
Analysis of "Fahrenheit 451" by Ray Bradbury
📚 Fahrenheit 451 is a classic dystopian novel.
✍️ I studied it and found techniques you can apply to your own writing.
My analysis is broken into four posts:
Part 1: How to introduce characters by showing, not telling
Part 2: When should you introduce your inciting incident?
Part 3: The art of revealing information
Here is Part 1:
“Show, don’t tell” is a piece of writing advice that is famous for a reason.
By showing, we allow readers to come to their own conclusions about our fictional worlds.
It can be especially helpful when introducing characters.
Ray Bradbury follows this teaching in Fahrenheit 451 when introducing the protagonist: Guy Montag.
Here’s how to introduce characters by showing, not telling:
Guy Montag is an experienced fireman in the dystopian world of Fahrenheit 451.
But that information is not told, it’s shown.
The opening of the novel sees Montag putting out a fire.
A few paragraphs later there’s a chapter break and we’re brought to the firestation:
He hung up his black beetle-colored helmet and shined it; he hung his flameproof jacket neatly; he showered luxuriously, and then, whistling, hands in pockets, walked across the upper floor of the fire station and fell down the hole. At the last moment, when disaster seemed positive, he pulled his hands from his pockets and broke his fall by grasping the golden pole. He slid to a squeaking halt, the heels one inch from the concrete floor downstairs.
Ray Bradbury shows us that Guy Montag is an experienced fireman.
He’s able to casually jump down to the lower floor and expertly stop himself on the pole.
The ease in which he does this (whistling with his hands in his pockets) also shows that he’s comfortable with his job duties, despite being tasked with destroying books. It’s only a bit later that the disillusion begins to creep in.
The novel could have started with paragraphs of description telling these specifics, but Bradbury trusts that readers will gain a good understanding of the protagonist by showing him in his element.
Continue reading my Fahrenheit 451 analysis:
Part 1: How to introduce characters by showing, not telling
Part 2: When should you introduce your inciting incident?
Part 3: The art of revealing information
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