Who Is Chris Crutcher's Use Of Characterization In Whale Talk

Characterization is a literary element utilized by Chris Crutcher in Whale Talk, throughout the story, to help the readers get a better, established, understanding of the characters, to further develop his story. The characters in Whale Talk are believable and realistic which helps the reader to connect their knowledge to the story, and to enhance their comprehension of the story. The main character is a round character, and his name is The Tao Jones, but he prefers the nickname T.J. Through direct characterization, the reader knows that T.J. turns down every opportunity he receives that relate to participating in team sports, even though he a very athletic young man, which makes him complex, and somewhat difficult to understand. T.J. explains, “I’ll be breaking a career-long rule banning myself from

An unusual name and ethnicity are what T.J. believes is what defines him, and the author portrays that he is an outlier because of these things. On top of that, he refuses to play team sports for the school, despite the fact that his school, Cutter High School, revolves around team sports. Furthermore, T.J. is a compelled young man, who can not be stopped no matter what. T.J.’s thoughts reveals what participating in athletics does to him, “When I was an age-group swimmer, I was driven. It consumed me, and I get uneasy thinking of becoming that focused on it again.” (Crutcher 14). The “ugly” side of T.J. is exposed and the reader has to account for all aspects of this character, who is round. He has to be careful not to take this new swim team too far, because there is a likely possibility that