Writing Prompt: Write a 2.5-3.5 page essay character study essay by choosing one character from one of the
following stories: “Greasy Lake”, “Cathedral”, “Where are you Going, Where Have you Been?”, “Everyday
Use”, “The Girl With Bangs”.
Choose a moment or very brief scene in the story (less than half a page) when the author makes this
character's actions especially striking, puzzling, revealing, or meaningful. Drawing on your skills of close
reading and analysis, examine the scene's details for evidence of significant implications of the character's
behavior. Use these questions to get started:
What does the story’s narrator tell us about the character at this moment? Is anything left out?
What does the character say for themselves? Does the character use words, gestures, objects, silences, or
other means to communicate?
How does the character's behavior at this moment reflect or distract from his or her true intentions? How does
the author make us aware of what those intentions are? In what ways and to what effect might the character
seem to be playing a part?
How do markers of dress, gender, race, profession, or class communicate in place of words? What are the
significance of these external markers?
How does the character's behavior in this scene reflect upon the story’s themes or issues elsewhere in the
text? (You don't have to cover all possible themes or the whole text.)
Sample Solution