Introducing Characters

Louise Murphy has introduced Hansel and Magda through their actions and their dialogue, and these introductions allow me to figure out which characters will be important, and which ones will be minor. Early on, I was able to tell that Hansel would be sneaky, and witty, because of his dialogue and actions. He was giving Gretel sass, while also being sarcastic and stubborn. Hansel's courage came through in the early pages of text when he used his only bread to create a trail, rather than eating it. This was courageous because first, Nazi dogs could smell the bread, and second, because he was so hungry. It was obvious that Hansel would be important because his wit, and courage combined create a powerful character. Magda was introduced and described more through her dialogue. As we just met Magda, she was very wise, and opinionated. She didn't care what anyone thought of her, and she wouldn't let Nazis stand in the way of her beliefs, or what she wanted to do. It became apparent that Magda would be very important because of how wise and independent she was introduced as. Other characters, such as Nelka and Gretel, were introduced as important also, because of their good qualities that make them powerful. However, Magda's brother was introduced as not important because of how he only thought of himself, and his safety- that makes for a boring and fairly inactive character. The author introduced Hansel and Magda, as well as several other characters through their actions and dialogue, which showed how powerful they were, and therefore allowed me to pick out the important characters.