How to describe the appearance of characters

Composition, whether it is recording events or writing about people, is always inseparable from character description. When a character appears in an article, just like an actor appears on the stage, the first thing that catches the audience's eye is their appearance. Therefore, learning to observe and describe the appearance of characters is a basic skill that cannot be ignored in writing narratives.

Character appearance not only refers to a person’s appearance, figure, and clothing, but also refers to a person’s expression, posture, voice, etc. Writing down these characteristics of a character in detail is a description of the character's appearance. Take the following example:

The sun-dark, thin face has a pair of slightly sunken, large, double-lidded eyes; the eyebrows are thin and slanted; the black and yellow hair is tied with strips of calico. Two short braids; clothes are very old; a pin is stuck in a hole in the right trouser leg; I go barefoot in spring, summer and autumn, only when I go up the mountain to grab firewood, I wear a pair of shoes for fear of puncturing my feet, but once The mountain fell away.

What is described here is the appearance of a rural girl. It uses six parallel clauses to describe the appearance and clothing, specifically describing the image of a rural girl with a poor family, a love of labor, and a stubborn personality.

To write well about the appearance of characters, the key is to observe carefully at ordinary times. Grasp the characters' appearance and characteristics, pay attention to their identities, and understand and become familiar with their personalities. Also pay attention to their changes. Specifically:

First, when describing a character's appearance, you must capture the characteristics of the character's appearance.

The following example paragraph:

This is a young man in his thirties. Wearing a military cotton coat and high leather boots. He is tall, square-faced and very burly. There is a black mole on his chin, and his eyes shine brightly in the dark, making him look rough and shrewd.

Li Yun is a smart and arrogant child. On his chubby face, he had a pair of big naughty eyes, and the eyelids were flickering. As long as those two big black gem-like eyes were turned, the next trick would come. On his dark face, whether it is the bulging cheeks, the thin lips, or the slightly raised tip of the nose, they all make you feel funny and cute.

Example 1 is about a young man in his thirties. The author captures the appearance characteristics of "wearing a military cotton coat", "wearing high leather boots", "tall, square face", "sparkling eyes", etc., and writes a rough and shrewd image of a man. Example 2 mainly captures the child’s facial features such as “naughty big eyes”, “bulging cheeks”, “upturned tip of nose”, etc., and makes a smart, funny and cute child come alive. The above two examples tell the story When we write about the appearance of a character, we must grasp the characteristics of the appearance, so that we will not suffer from the problem of "everyone is the same".

Secondly, when describing the appearance, we must pay attention to the identity of the character and not be pretentious as follows. The identity of the person is very clear.

I looked carefully at the young man in front of me. He was wearing a basket-colored travel hat with a line of white words on the brim: "Japanese University Student Tour Group". . Wearing a black and gray space suit, jeans, and a black travel bag on his shoulder.

This old man wore a broken straw hat on his head, with his hair exposed outside the brim. He was already graying. There was a gray-yellow coat hanging on his shoulders. His whole back was black and shiny, as if he had been coated with oil. , covered with countless knots, large and small, connected by high bulging blood vessels. There are no shoes on the feet, and the old skin on the soles is probably as thick as a finger... There is a dry cigarette pouch on the waist, and a cigarette purse. It is hung on the buttocks and swings on both sides like a pendulum.

The two paragraphs above describe two characters with different identities. The first example is about a stranger who meets him for the first time. The characteristics of his clothing tell people that he is a Japanese college student visiting China. Example 2 focuses on the old man’s back skin color, calf shape, bare feet, and a dry tobacco bag on his waist. It vividly depicts a man who lives in a rural area and has experienced hardships and hardships. A simple, healthy and typical image of an old farmer.

Third, when describing the appearance, we should pay attention to the changes in the character's inner emotions.

People always live in a certain environment, and at different times, Under different circumstances, age, economic status, occupation, mood, and emotions will all undergo certain changes, and these changes will inevitably be reflected in the character's appearance. Therefore, writing about the character's appearance cannot be static and must be reflected through the description of the character's appearance. The inner world of the character.

Please look at the following three examples describing the changes in the expression of the same old man:

On New Year’s Eve, her son and grandson came to her, and the wrinkles on her face smoothed out. , like blooming chrysanthemum petals, every wrinkle is filled with smiles.

One day, her wife fell ill. The bead-like wrinkles on her face deepened, and the knots formed by her two eyebrows locked together.

She looked at the portrait of her wife, her lips trembling slightly, and there were strings of tears flowing in the wrinkles like knife carvings.

The three example paragraphs describe the changes in the facial expressions of the same old man, but they reflect three different thoughts and feelings: Example 1 expresses the happiness of the old man enjoying "family happiness"; Example 2 reflects It shows the old man's anxious and worried state of mind because his wife and children are sick; Example 3 describes the old man's sad and sad thoughts and feelings. This shows that when describing the appearance of a character, we must pay attention to the changes in people's inner feelings.

Fourth, when describing the appearance, you should also pay attention to the character's personality.

People each have their own personalities, just like a pair of twins. Although they look the same, their personalities and temperaments are different. When describing the appearance, we must pay attention to reflecting the character's personality characteristics "in form and spirit". For example:

Jin Dou is only seven years old. Her hair is disheveled and hangs down to her neck. When she sees people, she lowers her head in shame, or runs away and looks at people quietly, or waits for you to know. It screams suddenly when you wake up to scare you.

Her name is probably Langlang, and she wears a small blouse with red background and white dots. Protruding forehead, flat nose bridge, and soft curly hair. Always silent, like a silent little philosopher.

The daughter looks like her mother, especially her eyes. The white eyes are like duck egg white, the black eyes are like chess pieces, they look like clear water when they are focused, and they look like stars when they flicker. All over the body, head after head, feet after feet. Her hair is slippery and her clothes are neatly styled.

The above three example paragraphs all describe the appearance of little girls, but they describe their different personalities and temperaments. The first example paragraph focuses on describing the child's expression, highlighting Jin Dou's shy but innocent and lively character; the second example paragraph first describes Langlang's appearance, and then uses metaphors to describe her quiet characteristics; the third example paragraph focuses on describing the eyes. Through the description of eye color and eye expression, the girl's smart and innocent inner temperament is expressed.

Read and practice:

1. Read the following example paragraph and practice.

Anyway, I saw him as soon as he was born. Always wear that black cotton-padded jacket. In summer, open your arms and the front of your cotton-padded coat is like two ajar doors, exposing your washboard-like chest; when it snows, you tie a straw rope around your waist. On his head was a pointed dog-skin hat, with the ears hanging down one behind the other.

①What characteristics of the character’s appearance does this description mainly capture? After reading it, what kind of person do you think this is?

②Find the metaphorical sentence in the paragraph and mark it with " ". Think about the role of metaphor here.

A small black head, a red little face, two small eyes narrowed into a slit, a pair of fat little hands, with five small dimples on the back of the hands.

① This passage uses 6 "small" characters in a row, which highlights the character's ______ characteristics.

② Find the adjectives in the paragraph and fill them in on the horizontal lines. And think about what role these adjectives play here?

______’s little head.

______’s little face.

______’s little hands.

______’s little eyes.

2. Describe the character's appearance according to the following requirements.

① Highlight the professional characteristics of teachers through the description of clothing.

② Highlight the appearance characteristics of the elderly through the description of wrinkles on the face.

③ Highlight the personality characteristics of young people through the description of their expressions.