It is a common habit for most great writers to impart part of their life into their works. They weave it into the already complicated structure of a story and wait for their readers to recognize the connections.
In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald bases his protagonist off himself. Nick Carraway's high education and temperament mimics that of Fitzgerald. Also using characters based off real people, Fitzgerald creates a world of possibilities he wished to be immersed in. Through the interactions of each romantically involved couple, like Tom and Daisy or Nick and Jordan, he could exemplify his real life relationship with Zelda. He could show their abnormalities: the lying, the blatant disregard of infidelity, the love that continued through hardships. Through writing a realistic fiction novel, he left his life story in the pages.
Like in The Things They Carried, Tim O'Brien, though through metafiction, crafted a novel that probed the innermost thoughts of his readers through his "personal narrative". He uses himself as the main character, but it isn't an autobiography. He changes his story to influence the reader in the way he wants, much like Fitzgerald- much like any successful writer, actually. Also like Fitzgerald though, he relies on personal experiences to piece together his story.
All great writers, including O'Brien and Fitzgerald, draw from personal memories and feelings. With them, their stories are more relate-able, more popular. Without them, well, we might find ourselves reading pretentious, cliche novels.
I definitely agree with you, that when writers reflect on their own lives, it makes a story easier to believe, and they can definitely express their feelings easily! Great post! :)
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that great writers often incorporate their life experiences into their writing. They're what shapes a story and makes each one different. Your post was nicely worded! :)
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