I'm not sure that it's possible to write a novel about people who don't transgress or stumble, people who don't surprise themselves with the things they do, people who can explain all their actions with perfect logical consistency. At least it's not possible for me to write that sort of novel.
Interpretation
This quote expresses the idea that human characters in stories must be flawed and unpredictable to be relatable and engaging.
Tom Perrotta emphasizes the necessity of imperfection and unpredictability in character development within literature. He suggests that writing about individuals who consistently make rational choices without errors or surprises is not only unrealistic but also dull, as true human experiences are often fraught with contradictions and spontaneous decisions. This reflects the complexity of human nature, where people often act against their logical reasoning, and such intricacies are what make narratives compelling.
In practice
In a literary class discussing character development, one could use this quote to illustrate the importance of conflict and flaws in storytelling.
Meg was going to have to learn for herself what Laurie had figured out over the summer - that it was better to leave well enough alone, to avoid unnecessary encounters with the people you'd left behind, to not keep poking at that sore tooth with the tip of your tongue. Not because you didn't love them anymore, but because you did, and because that love was useless now, just another dull ache in your phantom limb.
There was no really good true war book during the entire four years of the war. The only true writing that came through during the war was in poetry. One reason for this is that poets are not arrested as quickly as prose writers.
Dialogue is the place that books are most alive and forge the most direct connection with readers. It is also where we as writers discover our characters and allow them to become real.
What I've always tried to find in my books are points at which the private lives of the characters, and also my own, intersect with the public life of the culture.
Don Quixote — I read that every year, as some do the Bible.
All novels are about certain minorities: the individual is a minority. The universal in the novel-and isn't that what we're all clamoring for these days?-is reached only through the depiction of the specific man in a specific circumstance.
All literature, is, finally autobiographical.
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