Wednesday, September 25, 2013
How do significant events negatively impact a character to alter their lives permanently?
This questions interests because it sparks excitement in me. I want to learn more and research more about it. The fact that the answer may be illogical or up for interpretation makes me want to dig deeper into the depths of this question and gather research and other people's thoughts. To put it in simple terms, when I was young my parents got divorced, this could be a prime example of how a major life event could change the outcome of my life. Whether in the amount of relationships I wish to pursue, or the type of relationship I would like to pursue. These decisions could ultimately pivot my life in a completely different direction.
In other classes I've read books such as Into the Wild, The Scarlet Letter, and The Great Gatsby that have demonstrated that one major decision in the characters life has shaped their whole outcome and how they perceptive life. In Into the Wild the main characters father had been unfaithful to the whole family by being illegally married to his current wife and have a secret second family. When Chris finds out about this it seems to shape his whole decision to never stop traveling and never create a long term relationship.
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Alexis,
ReplyDeleteI think you're on the right track here, but I would shift away from the obvious a bit further. It's clear that life events shape our lives, though the "outcome" is a slippery term (is the outcome achieved just before death)? It sounds like you're especially interested in difficult events, or trauma. What if you asked, how do some characters turn traumatic events into learning opportunities rather than damage?" Or, "How much do life events shape who we are, as opposed to inherent qualities?" Or, "What kind of events tend to make the biggest impact on us?" I think any of these, or something like them, would work a little better for what you'll be using this blog to do in the future.