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.
If you read quickly to get through a poem to what it means, you have missed the body of the poem.
The problem with literature, with writing, is that it works sometimes in terms of correction of social ills. Other times, it just does not suffice.
He was the man who of all modern, and perhaps ancient poets, had the largest and most comprehensive soul. . . . He was naturally learn'd; he needed not the spectacles of books to read Nature; he looked inwards, and found her there. . . . He is many times flat, insipid; his comic wit degenerating in to clenches, his serious swelling into bombast. But he is always great, when some occasion is presented to him.
It's in being read that a book becomes a book, and in each of a million different readings a book become one of a million different books . . .
The poet gives us his essence, but prose takes the mould of the body and mind entire.
I write adult fiction, but a good 40 to 50 per cent of my readers are teenagers. I love that if they have to grow up and move past JK Rowling they can move to me. From Jo to Jodi!
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