In this activity, students analyze one character in depth. Each storyboard cell covers a different concept and requires evidence from the text. The example analyzes the protagonist, Antonio José Bolívar Proaño, but the same template works for any character in the novel.
Cell 5, relationship with the jungle, is the key to this novel: almost every character stands for a different way of living in the Amazon, and that cell prepares students for the themes and conflict activities. This activity shows who the character is; the character transformation activity shows how he changes over time. They work well back to back.
With students learning Spanish as a second language, provide a list of character adjectives (paciente, solitario, sabio, desconfiado, terco) and the sentence starter "Este personaje es… porque…". With heritage speakers, ask them to explain the quote in cell 1 in their own words and to comment on how the character speaks.
| CELL | WHAT STUDENTS DO | EXAMPLE: ANTONIO JOSÉ BOLÍVAR PROAÑO |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Important Quote | Choose a quote that defines the character and explain why. | "Fue el descubrimiento más importante de toda su vida. Sabía leer." ("It was the most important discovery of his whole life. He could read.") Reading gives him company and meaning in his loneliness, and it explains everything he does afterward. Another option for cell 5: "Nunca pensó en la palabra libertad, y la disfrutaba a su antojo en la selva" ("He never thought about the word freedom, and he enjoyed it as he pleased in the jungle"). |
| 2. Archetype | Name the archetype that fits best and justify it. | The wise elder: he knows the jungle better than anyone and sees what others miss. Students can also argue for the outsider, since he doesn't fully belong to El Idilio or to the Shuar. |
| 3. Physical Traits | Describe how the character looks, using details from the text. | A thin old man who is still agile in the jungle. He wears dentures, which he sometimes keeps wrapped in a handkerchief, and reads with a magnifying glass. |
| 4. Personality Traits | Identify two or three traits and support each with an action. | Patient: he reads each novel slowly, syllable by syllable. Observant: he works out that the gringo was killed by an ocelot, not by the Shuar. Solitary: he prefers his hut and his novels to the company of the village. |
| 5. Relationship with the Jungle | Explain how the character sees and treats the jungle. | He respects it because the Shuar taught him how to live in it. He hunts the way they taught him, taking only what he needs, and he respects the animal he is tracking. |
| 6. Connection to a Theme | Connect the character to one of the novel's themes. | Civilization vs. nature: Antonio José stands between the two worlds. Reading as a refuge from loneliness also works. |
The protagonist. He came to the Amazon as a settler, lived for years with the Shuar, and knows the jungle better than anyone in El Idilio. He reads romance novels slowly, with a magnifying glass, and prefers the ones that make you suffer but end happily. Even though he doesn't want to, the mayor forces him to hunt the ocelot.
The village authority, an obese man who never stops sweating, which is why he is called "the Slug" (la Babosa). He was sent to El Idilio as punishment for embezzling funds. He collects taxes, mistreats the Indigenous woman he lives with, and blames the Shuar without evidence. He is the strongest contrast to Antonio José in cell 5.
The dentist who visits El Idilio twice a year on the boat Sucre. He distrusts the government, is Antonio José's friend, and brings him the romance novels that Josefina finds for him.
A Shuar man from another village who becomes Antonio José's best friend. He is killed by gold prospectors. Antonio José avenges his death without following the Shuar ritual, and because of this the Shuar can no longer welcome him as one of their own.
A female ocelot (tigrillo). A gringo kills her cubs and wounds her mate, and from then on she attacks the men in the area. Analyzing her as a character is a good challenge for advanced students.
(These instructions are completely customizable. After clicking "Copy Activity", update the instructions on the Edit Tab of the assignment.)
Create a storyboard that analyzes one character from Un viejo que leía novelas de amor in depth.
By then the mayor, the dentist, the Shuar, and the dead gringo have all appeared. Have students fill in those cells first and add Dolores and Nushiño when they reach the flashbacks in chapters 3 and 4. The map grows with the reading instead of becoming an end-of-book summary.
This field is the hardest one and the most specific to this novel. Fill it in aloud for the mayor: he despises the jungle and blames the Shuar without evidence. Then have students compare him with Antonio José, who learned from the Shuar to respect the jungle.
A trait without proof doesn't count. If a student writes that the mayor is corrupt, they should cite that he was sent to El Idilio as punishment for embezzling funds. If they write that Antonio José is wise, they should show how he proves the gringo was killed by an ocelot, not by the Shuar.
Remind students that the Shuar are a real people, not just characters. Ask for illustrations without costumes or exaggerated features, based on what the text says. For the ocelot, invite the class to describe her the way Antonio José sees her: not as a monster, but as a mother defending her own.
Use the last 10 minutes to compare two characters from the map: How are the mayor and the gringos alike, and how are they different? or Why does Antonio José get along better with the dentist than with the rest of the town? The answers set up the conflict and themes activities.
At a minimum, Antonio José Bolívar Proaño, the mayor (“the Slug”), Rubicundo Loachamín, Nushiño, and the ocelot. For a complete map, add Dolores, the Shuar as a group, and the gringos. The cast is small, so you can ask for more depth in each cell rather than more cells.
Plan for 40 to 50 minutes if students work from the finished novel. If you'd rather have the map follow the reading, start it after chapter 2 and spend 10 to 15 minutes at the end of each week filling in new cells. This spreads out the work and doubles as ongoing review.
Check three things in each cell: accurate traits, text evidence for every personality trait, and an illustration that matches the description. In the “relationship with the jungle” field, look for students to explain the character's stance with a concrete event, such as the mayor's accusation against the Shuar.
For learners, provide a list of character adjectives (desconfiado, corrupto, sabio, solitario) and accept short phrases. For heritage speakers, require complete sentences and ask them to comment on how the characters speak: the mayor's tone compared with Antonio José's says a lot about each one.
Try these: Why does the mayor blame the Shuar without evidence? Does Antonio José belong to El Idilio, to the Shuar, or to neither? Is the ocelot a villain? Have students cite a cell from their map in each answer, and have at least one student argue the opposite side.