RE: two rats

while i realize how incredibly broad this argument is, i think when we are
asking this question (are the protagonist or other characters a reflection of
the author?) we must first ascertain what objective the author has in mind
with his work, what moral he is trying to convey. as it is a general human
tendency to attempt to promote yourself and your life philosophies as the
correct path, i think that behavior is even more prominent among authors
(indeed, what else are they there for?). for what are authors if they are not
passionate about their work and ideas? and how can you be passionate about
something in which you have no part, or to which you are not intimately
connected? while there may not be a direct correlation between the author's
behavior or topical personality, there is almost undoubtedly one between what
he sees as the correct mode of living and what the characters purport-i.e.
salinger, being a grumpy, stingy, reticent, condescending old man, bears
little or no resemblance to his main characters-the perfect, precocious,
always selfless seymour, teddy, and others-and perhaps that, what the author
wishes for himself in his 'heart of hearts,' is the most intimate glance we
can get.

>===== Original Message From Jim Rovira <jrovira@drew.edu> =====
>That's what I said, Levi, in the second sentence. "It's always a reflection
of
>yourself somehow."
>
>So what are you arguing with? :)
>
>See, if the characters an author creates could be similar to their own
>personalities, an invented alter-ego, or based upon some jerk in a
supermarket
>that the author met some time back....how do the readers know which of these
is
>being reflected in the author's fiction? Somehow I think the alter-ego or
the
>characters similar to the author's own personality are much more like looking
up
>the author's skirt than the character that's based on a jerk the author
happened
>to meet in a supermarket one day. While everything is based upon the
author's
>personal experience, some of it is more personal than others.
>
>Sometimes we're just looking at the author's left elbow and not at the
author's
>underwear. :)
>
>But we can never really tell with much certainty which we're looking at.
>
>Jim
>
>lray wrote:
>
>> Jim wrote:
>>
>> >After all, you're creating a character, not necessarily yourself, in a
story.
>> >It's always a reflection of yourself somehow, but how or why or in what
way
>> is
>> >always up for grabs...
>>
>> But isn't everything one writes a manifestation of what they have read,
seen,
>> done, experienced? If this is so then everything we produce comes from a
part
>> of ourselves previously hidden.
>> So you create a new character, could be similar to your own personality,
could
>> be an alter-ego you've never told anyone about, could be based on some jerk
>> you met in the market a year ago who left a mark cause he bumped you the
wrong
>> way. I just think that Cecilia's statement about one being able to see up
>> one's skirt for the women or the cross-dressers or our metaphorical
underpants
>> for us guys is pretty true. Having someone read something you've written
and
>> spent time on is like a first date, you are hoping to impress but your
hopes
>> aren't very high. Sweaty palms and underarms, that sort of thing. I can
>> never be in the same room because I inevitably end up searching the
person's
>> face for any reaction whatsoever and end up riding a roller coaster of
>> dissapointment and excitement.
>> Ah well, my comment might be for naught but at least I am back talkin' on
the
>> list.
>> A bit of a blurb...
>> -Levi
>>
>> Check out my site at http://ruonthelevel.com/
>> and if all else fails try http://ruonthelevel.no-ip.com/
>>
>> -
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" I would gladly trade all my friends for the company of children."
                                                -Albert Einstien

Matthew S. Mahoney
Station B 8209
matthew.s.mahoney@vanderbilt.edu

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Received on Thu Aug 29 03:39:23 2002