Slam
Greg "Slam" Harris is the main character in the book Slam by Walter Dean Meyers. Greg is a round and dynamic character because of his many different traits. Greg is very tall and strong, and is very athletic. He can also jump very high because of his dunking ability. He does not do well in school, though, and struggles mainly with math. His grandma is sick and in the hospital and he feels sorry for her, so he visits her often. He also has feelings for Mtisha, his girlfriend, and is deeply in love with her. Greg is friends with lots of people, but some think that he has an attitude. Because of his negative and cocky attitute, the Coach of his basketball team does not play him a lot, although he is the teams best player. Teachers are not very fond of Greg, either, and he struggles to get good grades. The moral for Greg is that he tries to balance out school and basketball, but also has to worry about his social life with Ice and Mtisha.
Physical: Greg is strong, athletic, and has dark skin. "I'm six four and I got the moves, the eye, and the heart" (1). This shows that Greg knows and believes that he is a very good basketball player and shows that he is a confident player.
Mental: Slam does not do too well in school and struggles a lot with math. "Are you bright enough to remember that we're supposed to be playing team ball' (41). Trip angers Greg in saying that he is not smart enough to play team ball. Greg gets told many times that he does not pass much and needs to get the ball to other people.
Emotional: He is in love with his friend Mtisha and has serious feelings for her. "You mean you just want me to go home when my heart is filled up with love for you" (196). Greg tells Mtisha that he has feelings for her and is not happy when she tells him to go home. Mtisha has mixed feelings for Greg throughout the book but Greg loves Mtisha deeply through the book.
Social: He has lots of friends at school and is popular because of his skill to play ball but some people on his basketball team think he has an attitude. "Sometimes you act as if you have a chip on your shoulder" (88). Here, Jimmy talks to Greg about his attitude problem and also tells him about how the coach thinks he has an attitude also.
Moral: Greg tries to balance school and basketball with his social life with Mtisha. "If you got down on your knees I wouldn't care" (93). This shows Greg and Mtisha's battle with eachother and their struggle. Greg and Mtisha go through a struggle throughout the whole book.
Physical: Greg is strong, athletic, and has dark skin. "I'm six four and I got the moves, the eye, and the heart" (1). This shows that Greg knows and believes that he is a very good basketball player and shows that he is a confident player.
Mental: Slam does not do too well in school and struggles a lot with math. "Are you bright enough to remember that we're supposed to be playing team ball' (41). Trip angers Greg in saying that he is not smart enough to play team ball. Greg gets told many times that he does not pass much and needs to get the ball to other people.
Emotional: He is in love with his friend Mtisha and has serious feelings for her. "You mean you just want me to go home when my heart is filled up with love for you" (196). Greg tells Mtisha that he has feelings for her and is not happy when she tells him to go home. Mtisha has mixed feelings for Greg throughout the book but Greg loves Mtisha deeply through the book.
Social: He has lots of friends at school and is popular because of his skill to play ball but some people on his basketball team think he has an attitude. "Sometimes you act as if you have a chip on your shoulder" (88). Here, Jimmy talks to Greg about his attitude problem and also tells him about how the coach thinks he has an attitude also.
Moral: Greg tries to balance school and basketball with his social life with Mtisha. "If you got down on your knees I wouldn't care" (93). This shows Greg and Mtisha's battle with eachother and their struggle. Greg and Mtisha go through a struggle throughout the whole book.
Ice
In the book, Slam, by Walter Dean Meyers, Ice is the main characters best friend. The character, Ice, is a static and dynamic character because throughout most of the book, his emotions and beliefs stay the same. When he is not with Slam, he does not have the best morals. For example, when Slam is not around he will be dealing drugs, doing drugs and getting in fights with other kids around their neighborhood. Although when Slam comes around and hangs out with Ice, he acts better and stops his bad habbits because he knows that if he does anything wrong around Slam, their friendship will be ruined, which would be very hard to deal with for both Ice and Slam because they have been best friends for their whole lives. Ice portrays indirect characterization because he is described throughout the book by other characters, such as Slam.
Physical: Ice is a very heavy built guy. He is very strong, big, and has dark skin. Ice is a very athletic person and loves to play basketball with his best friend, Slam.
Mental: Ice is a smart guy but he doesn't act like it all of the time. He got dragged into the street life and began to sell drugs. Ice can be a smart person, but does not use his smartness to his advantage.
Emotional: Ice does not show many emotions throughout the book, because his morals and thoughts do not change very much.
Social: Ice has a bad social life because he is always dealing drugs, and not very many people like to be around teens like that. Once slam found out that Ice was dealing drugs, they had to go through some difficult things, and even though it ended up okay in the end, parts of their friendship will never be the same as they were before.
Moral: Ice does not have a real set of morals because he is always out on the streets doing bad things and making unjust decisions. For example, he sells drugs and keeps alot of secrets from Slam, even though they are best friends, he continues to risk their friendship throughout the book. "A girl came away from the edge of the roof and grabbed the drugs from ice"(275).
Physical: Ice is a very heavy built guy. He is very strong, big, and has dark skin. Ice is a very athletic person and loves to play basketball with his best friend, Slam.
Mental: Ice is a smart guy but he doesn't act like it all of the time. He got dragged into the street life and began to sell drugs. Ice can be a smart person, but does not use his smartness to his advantage.
Emotional: Ice does not show many emotions throughout the book, because his morals and thoughts do not change very much.
Social: Ice has a bad social life because he is always dealing drugs, and not very many people like to be around teens like that. Once slam found out that Ice was dealing drugs, they had to go through some difficult things, and even though it ended up okay in the end, parts of their friendship will never be the same as they were before.
Moral: Ice does not have a real set of morals because he is always out on the streets doing bad things and making unjust decisions. For example, he sells drugs and keeps alot of secrets from Slam, even though they are best friends, he continues to risk their friendship throughout the book. "A girl came away from the edge of the roof and grabbed the drugs from ice"(275).
Mtisha
In the book, Slam, by Walter Dean Myers, the character Mtisha plays Slam's girlfriend. Mtisha is a dark skinned, dark haired, pretty woman. She likes Slam but values being treated right, so throughout the book she makes sure Slam is always proper and nice to her. She is not afraid to say what she thinks, which makes her an outgoing character in this novel. She also values good grades, and tries to help Slam with getting his grades up. Mtisha is described through indirect characterization in the novel because although the author talks about her, you have to infer what she is like by her actions and what she says. I would say she is a static character because she values her morals throughout the whole story, and although she has morals, they do not change throughout the novel. Some of the morals that she values include being treated right, getting good grades, dating someone who works hard to be her boyfriend, and staying positive throughout the book, when she helps Slam through many of his hardships. I would also chatacterize Mtisha as a round character because she is one of the main chatacters in the book, and the person that Slam loves very much.
Physical: Mtisha is a very beautiful dark skinned, dark haired, young woman. When Slam sees her, he thinks to himself, "Mtisha was looking her usual fine self,"(20). This illustrates that she is a very good looking woman, and Slam obviously agrees with that, because he talks about how beautiful she is throughout the book.
Mental: Mtisha thinks it is very important for her boyfriend, Slam, to get good grades. When trying to help him with a bad grade on one of his recent math tests, she says, "Why don't you come to my house every day and we can do the homework together,"(151). Although Greg does not always appreciate and accept her offers to help him, this shows that she wants him to get good grades and is willing to give up her own time, to help him.
Emotional: Mtisha loves and cares for Slam very much. When talking to him she says, "I knew I might meet you out here,"(21). This shows that they try to meet up and get together whenever they can because they love each other. Throughout the book, Mtisha and Slam's relationship goes up and down, but overall, they love each other and know that they might end up spending the rest of their lives with each other, so they always seem to make things work out.
Social: Mtisha has a lot of friends and is popular around the block. When hanging out with some of her friends, she says, "'[We're going] To get some wedgies,' Mtisha said. 'Come on and go with us,'"(21). This shows how a lot of people like her and enjoy being around her. She has a lot of friends and likes hanging out with them, along with her boyfriend, Slam.
Moral: When upset by the fact Slam got together with another girl, Kicky, Mtisha says, "'Just trying to figure it out how we all fit together,' she said. 'You know me, you, Ice, Bianca, all of us. Cutting people out of your life is easy, keeping them in is hard,'"(121). This exemplifies that Mtisha values being treated right by her boyfriend, Slam. She says in the quote that its easy to get rid of people you do not like, but its way harder to keep the people you love in your life. Being treated right is one of Mtisha's biggest morals that she values a lot, so when Slam kissed Kicky, he shows he is not trustworthy, and that Mtisha should always be aware that anything can happen at any time.
Physical: Mtisha is a very beautiful dark skinned, dark haired, young woman. When Slam sees her, he thinks to himself, "Mtisha was looking her usual fine self,"(20). This illustrates that she is a very good looking woman, and Slam obviously agrees with that, because he talks about how beautiful she is throughout the book.
Mental: Mtisha thinks it is very important for her boyfriend, Slam, to get good grades. When trying to help him with a bad grade on one of his recent math tests, she says, "Why don't you come to my house every day and we can do the homework together,"(151). Although Greg does not always appreciate and accept her offers to help him, this shows that she wants him to get good grades and is willing to give up her own time, to help him.
Emotional: Mtisha loves and cares for Slam very much. When talking to him she says, "I knew I might meet you out here,"(21). This shows that they try to meet up and get together whenever they can because they love each other. Throughout the book, Mtisha and Slam's relationship goes up and down, but overall, they love each other and know that they might end up spending the rest of their lives with each other, so they always seem to make things work out.
Social: Mtisha has a lot of friends and is popular around the block. When hanging out with some of her friends, she says, "'[We're going] To get some wedgies,' Mtisha said. 'Come on and go with us,'"(21). This shows how a lot of people like her and enjoy being around her. She has a lot of friends and likes hanging out with them, along with her boyfriend, Slam.
Moral: When upset by the fact Slam got together with another girl, Kicky, Mtisha says, "'Just trying to figure it out how we all fit together,' she said. 'You know me, you, Ice, Bianca, all of us. Cutting people out of your life is easy, keeping them in is hard,'"(121). This exemplifies that Mtisha values being treated right by her boyfriend, Slam. She says in the quote that its easy to get rid of people you do not like, but its way harder to keep the people you love in your life. Being treated right is one of Mtisha's biggest morals that she values a lot, so when Slam kissed Kicky, he shows he is not trustworthy, and that Mtisha should always be aware that anything can happen at any time.