In Kite Runner so far, the major theme has been Amir's determination to flee from his past. He tries again and again to run away from the memory of his betrayal of Hassan. He leaves his country and buries himself in a new life in America, keeping his guilt a secret even from his wife. But despite his desperate efforts to run away, something draws him back irresistibly to this memory.
Why does this happen? How can it happen, in spite of Amir's resistance? Mr. Allen suggested an interesting way of thinking about it: the story is a battle between Amir and the author, with Hosseini pushing Amir towards facing his past, and Amir fighting him all the way. Amir fears the pain of remembering his betrayal of Hassan. But Hosseini knows that the only way Amir can truly move on from the alley in Kabul is to confront what he did there. And so, against his will, Amir will be forced to face what he has done, and in the process find closure or even redemption.
This idea, that a story can be thought of as a conflict between the author and the main character, is one I haven't heard before. As I have thought about it, I realize that something similar happens in many of the stories I've read: The main character is pushed from their relatively happy life by events beyond their control (in other words, the author) and forced to confront a dreaded enemy, whether it is external or internal. In fact, a book that was not like this, in which the character could control everything that happened to him, would be quite boring to read. This conflict between author and character, it seems, is a key part of a good story. I'm glad that now I will recognize it when I see it.
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ReplyDeleteConnor,
ReplyDeleteI'm really glad that you brought this up, because I was thinking about the same thing when Mr. Allen said this!
I too, found it very fascinating to learn, that a book could have a level of depth, and even ability, to portray a feud between a character and the author.
I liked when you said that you’ve noticed this in many books you have previously read. That is, in most stories, the main character is forced to leave their perfect, happy lives, and face something they do not feel comfortable with. And perhaps, this is similar to the character-author battle we see The Kite Runner.
Your post made me look at Amir's real struggle in the story in a different way. I thought about how while other characters, helped Amir reach redemption, so many outside sources helped him too, literally. Maybe Husseini was the one that pushed Amir the most, out of all the other characters, to reach redemption. It's ironic though, because in a sense, Husseini had to be somewhere in Amir. He was the force in Amir that made Amir want to gain redemption.
Great job Connor!
I agree with you Connor. I had not really thought about creating a story out of a disagreement between a character and the author. It adds a whole new layer of depth to the story when the author can force-feed his characters what they need.
ReplyDeleteI too started thinking of other books that this occurred in. It is odd how in most books I like, the main character or characters are forced out of the "normal" status quo. For most of the story, they long to get back to where they started; although in most stories it's about a literal return, not an emotional.