Think of two people you know who are nothing like each other, yet keep ending up in the same room. One is careful; the other rushes. One talks; the other watches. That clash is what keeps a story moving.
Today you will pick two contrasting characters from your anchor text, work through five set comparison questions, decide what evidence to hunt under each, weigh the pair side by side, and write a five-point Character Comparison Sheet for your Communication Portfolio.
Name the two characters from the anchor text your class chose. If you are unsure, check the entry you made when the class agreed it, or ask your teacher before you start.
Writers build tension by putting unlike people together. Before you touch your own pair, watch this short example work the same move.
| Term | What it means for you | Real example |
|---|---|---|
| Contrast: a clear difference placed side by side | It shows you what each character is by showing what they are not | One character plans; the other wings it |
| Similarity: something both still share | It stops the comparison becoming a cartoon of opposites | Both still need the same bus |
| Dramatic tension: the pull when wants or ways clash | It is why the scene feels alive rather than flat | Same need, opposite handling of money and time |
Worked example (not your anchor text). Maeve arrives twenty minutes early, bag on her knees, counting coins. Jordan arrives as the bus pulls up, hoodie half on, laughing at his phone, no ticket: "You can cover me, yeah?"
The same five questions you will use, answered for Maeve and Jordan:
The tension is not that they are different. It is that they need the same thing and handle it in opposite ways.
The headings below are the same five questions the worked example answered for Maeve and Jordan.
The grid does not save your notes, so write your sheet in the next step before you leave this page.
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