Stories revolve around characters, so deep comprehension depends on the reader’s ability to analyze character relationships. A good writer will develop a strong character as the focal point of the plot and resulting action. If a reader doesn’t understand the character, comprehension will be impaired. Take, for instance, the charac- ters from Seabiscuit.Comprehension of this book requires an understanding of the characters’
motives and how their interactions influenced particular outcomes. Deep comprehension is also shaped by the reader’s ability to analyze the characters’ relationship to various settings.
The setting of Seabiscuit, for example, is during the Depression, when people were looking desperately for something to raise their hopes and lift their spirits. Would a change in setting influence the characters’ actions and resulting events? Good readers are sensitive to questions such as this, and they use their awareness of
such questions to think more deeply about the author’s message.
Let’s look at another example, this time from Richard Peck’s book A Year Down Yonder(2000).
This humorous story is about Mary Alice, a teenage girl who leaves her Chicago home to spend the summer in a small country town with her eccentric grandmother. From the first page, the reader is constructing knowledge of the char- acters, which in turn will enable the reader to anticipate and confirm subsequent actions as the story unfolds. Consider the following episode, which occurs about midway through the book.
The scene opens with “bloody screams mingled with other screams and crashing and banging noises.” Grandma runs down the stairs with a shotgun. The complexity of the story is further enhanced as two new characters (Arnold Green, the boarder, and Maxine Patch, the postmistress) are brought into the setting. To understand their relationship to this particular scene, it is impor-
tant to recall that earlier in the story Grandma had invited Arnold to use the attic as his art studio, and that in previous chapters, the author has hinted that Maxine is romantically interested in Arnold. The words “mingled with other screams” allow the reader to predict that at least two people, probably Arnold and Maxine, are in the attic. The puzzling element of the passage has to do with all the noise. However, the scene with Grandma is perfectly logical, just the type of action we might expect from her tempestuous character. Grandma gallops into the front room, wearing an old bathrobe and Grandpa’s house shoes, her spectacles hanging from one ear, and holding a twelve-gauge Winchester shotgun. As the story continues, the dynamic relationships between characters, actions, settings, and prob- lems become more entwined. Maxine comes thundering down the stairs, with a large black snake “draped and coiled all over her sizable body, as though it had fallen from the ceiling on Author’s Message Reader’s Questions
(in the text) (in the mind)
Tiger is asleep. What is a tiger?
Mother Monkey is asleep. Does the tiger have anything to do with the monkeys?
Baby Monkey is asleep.
Baby Monkey wakes up. Where is the baby monkey going?
Here comes Baby Monkey. Where is the tiger? Can tigers climb trees?
Baby Monkey is hungry. Will Baby Monkey go find something to eat? Will Tiger wake up? Will Mother Monkey wake up? What will happen to Baby Monkey if Tiger comes along?
Does Baby Monkey know that tigers are dangerous?
Tiger wakes up. Uh, oh, what will happen? Will Tiger eat Baby Monkey? Will Mother Monkey
Tiger is hungry. wake up?
Mother Monkey wakes up. Why is Mother Monkey calling Baby Monkey? Why doesn’t she just run down
“Baby Monkey! Come up here! the tree to get him?
Come up here!”
Here comes Tiger! Does Tiger know that Baby Monkey is nearby? Will he chase Baby Monkey up the tree? Will he eat Baby Monkey?
Baby Monkey is up in the tree. How does Baby Monkey feel? Did Tiger ever see Baby Monkey? Will Baby Baby Monkey is safe. ever get anything to eat? Will he be able to go down the tree for food? What
did Baby Monkey learn?
her.” As the reader visualizes this passage, it seems logical to assume that a snake of that size must have been living in the attic for a long time.
(Earlier in the book, it was established that loud noises could be heard in the attic). Maxine’s behavior is further complicated as the author describes that “the snake was all that Maxine wore!” This is a bit of humor, perhaps out of char- acter for a spinster postmistress, yet not totally unexpected if the reader has been tuned in to Maxine’s romantic interest in Arnold. A good reader will use text information to analyze char- acters, infer their actions, and make realistic assumptions about relationships between char- acter and action. In this example, the idea that Grandma’s spirited personality could be respon- sible for the snake in the attic and subsequent consequences is a natural attempt on the part of the reader to construct meaning on reading this
humorous passage. My point is that deep comprehension is dependent on the reader’s ability to think beyond isolated events and to construct greater understanding through the relationships of elements in a story.
As teachers, we ourselves should engage in activities that will deepen our knowledge of the process of comprehension. For instance, during literacy team meetings, teachers can conduct book discussions around a common text, then create a text map that focuses on character anal- ysis. In Figure 2.3, for example, a team of coaches analyzed the central role of the main character, Opal, to nine secondary characters in the story Because of Winn-Dixie (DiCamillo 2000). In the example on the next page, from Stone Fox (Gardiner 1980), a group of coaches created a text map that focused on characteristics of strong characters, supported by evidence from the text.
Figure 2.3 A Character Map Analyzing the Role of the Central Character to Nine Secondary Characters from Because of Winn-Dixie.
Character How the Character Influenced Opal How Opal Influenced the Character
Winn-Dixie He connected Opal to all the other characters. Opal rescued and protected Winn-Dixie.
The Preacher He gave Opal the truth about her mother. Opal helped the preacher come out of his shell.
Miss Franny Block She was a friend to Opal who connected Opal Opal was a friend to Miss Franny and (librarian) to a friend her own age. connected her to friends her own age.
Old pinch faced She helped Opal realize that everyone had a Opal helped her realize that Amanda
Amanda Wilkinson loss. could still care for others.
(child)
Gertrude (parrot) Gertrude helped Opal get a job. Opal helped Gertrude get over her fear of dogs.
Sweetie Pie Thomas She was Opal’s first connection with a child Opal let her play with and love Winn-Dixie.
and the town.
Stevie & Dunlap The boys aroused Opal’s curiosity in friendship. Opal helped the boys learn to not judge
Dewberry (neighbor people so quickly.
boys)
Gloria Dump She taught Opal that everyone has a past Opal was Gloria’s eyes and provided (neighborhood lady) and how to deal with it. companionship.
Otis (pet store He opened Opal’s eyes that people can be Opal provided an opportunity for him to play worker) good even though they have a background. his music for people.
In his book On Writing(2000), Stephen King explains how an author shows, rather than tells, the reader about the character. For example, in his description of Annie Wilkes, the psychotic nurse in Misery, King writes: “We see her go through dangerous mood-swings, but I tried never to come right out and say ‘Annie was depressed and possibly suicidal that day’ or
‘Annie seemed particularly happy that day’” (p.
191). King explains how a writer uses language that shows the actions of the character, thus enabling the reader to infer particular traits and motives. “I can show you a silent, dirty-haired woman who compulsively gobbles cake and candy, then have you draw the conclusion that Annie is in the depressive part of a manic-depres- sive cycle” (p. 191). Thus, for deep comprehen- sion, the reader’s mind and thoughts must engage with the writer’s words.
Given these facts, I propose that compre- hending strategies used by fluent readers, as described in the last examples, are no different than the strategies used by emergent readers, such as the young person who was responding to Tiger, Tiger.Simply put, the difference is not in the process itself, but rather in the extent of the reader’s content knowledge and problem-solving experience in activating and sustaining compre-
hending strategies. This is important for teachers to know, for it places comprehension instruction along a continuum that increases in depth and efficiency through meaningful and relevant reading experiences. Furthermore, it implies that the author is responsible for writing a compre- hensible text to which readers can apply reliable strategies for constructing meaning. There is no greater barrier to reading comprehension than a poorly written text with illogical relationships;
such a text denies the mind the opportunity to infer beyond the printed page.