There are many ways to develop a character in a story. A good development of the characters is crucial to any story's success. In Love In L.A by Dagoberto Gilb, the author does this in three main ways: by description, by action, and by dialogue.
             First, the main character Jake's personality is shown through the narrator's descriptive tone, as well as narration of the story. In the beginning of the story we can see that the author describes Jake such that one can make the assumption that he is probably young, approximately 20. We can determine this because of Jakes manner and thoughts when he is sitting in his car. His way of cognition is similar to that of a younger person who's greatest preoccupations in life, like the stereotype of most guys, are cars and freedom. When the author states that "[Jake] needed an FM radio in something better than this '58 Buick..."(Meyer, 265), he demonstrates Jake's age cohort. The description the author gives of Jake thinking about "crushed velvet interior with electric controls for the L.A. summer, a nice warm heater...for the winter drives at the beach, cruise control for those longer trips...(265) characterizes him as being youthful, in that he spends time at the beach and can take long trips. The author also portrays Jake as an easy-going type of person through description. Even though Jake had gotten into an accident, he thought of it as "a harmless smack" (256) and he waved off the driver that hit his car nonchalantly "to let the man know there was no problem as far as he was concerned" (266). The reader can see the extent of Jake's casualness at the end of the story in which after all that happened from the car accident, "his sense of freedom swelled as he drove ..., though he couldn't stop the thought about the FM stereo radio and crushed velvet interior and the new car smell that would even make it b...