A Visit To Grandmother (Direct and Indirect Characterization)

In order to introduce one character's personality or traits in a specific plot of a story, authors usually use two ways,direct and indirect characterization. In "A Visit to Grandmother" the author,William Melvin Kelley, used both:

Direct characterization is the process by which the personality of a character is revealed by the use of descriptive adjective, phrases, or epithets.
One example of direct characterization, is when the author described the grandmother's ,Charles'mother, appearance. " She looked like a doll, made of black straw, the wrinkles in her face running in one direction like the head of a broom. Her hair was white and coarse...". We can deduce from the previous dialogue the grandmother's appearance using descriptive adjectives and phrases. 
Another example is when GL was described as "part conman, part practical joker , and part Don Juan".The author directly stated GL's personality of being the ladies man.


Indirect characterization is the process by which the personality of a character is revealed through the character's speech, actions, and appearance.
One example of indirect characterization is Charles' relationship with his mother. "Chig knew something was wrong the instant his father kissed her, something new and almost ugly has come to his eyes....". By mentioning that, the author introduced us to the thought that there has been a conflict between the grandmother and Charles.
Another example is when the grandmother could not differentiate between her sons which shows that she has poor eyesight.