In class, we assumed that Howie was a reflection of Nicholson Baker himself (for example, Mr. Mitchell referenced Baker's beard on the back cover when talking about Howie's beard in the book). There are plenty of other similarities between Baker and Howie. This brought me to ask the question: How often do authors insert themselves into their own novels as main characters?
One author that I can think of that writes about the same type of character, himself, book after book, is Haruki Murakami. Two of his books in particular: The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle and Kafka on the Shore. I thought that the main characters from each book could have been easily swapped. Toru Okada from The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle and Kafka Tamura from Kafka on the Shore are both strong-willed men who set out on adventures for quirky but personal reasons. They are also both very introspective, and I know Murakami is as well. The main connection between them is that they both enjoy lemons and/or lemon drops and delve into the details of cooking for themselves. These two recurring habits in Murakami's novels lead me to believe that Murakami portrays himself as other characters.
There are obvious examples of authors writing about themselves in their own novels. Kurt Vonnegut in Slaughterhouse-Five writes about his experiences during World War II through the story of Billy Pilgrim, the book's main character. This gives the book an autobiographic feel, which was different from The Mezzanine (cause who writes an autobiography like that?).
There are obvious examples of authors writing about themselves in their own novels. Kurt Vonnegut in Slaughterhouse-Five writes about his experiences during World War II through the story of Billy Pilgrim, the book's main character. This gives the book an autobiographic feel, which was different from The Mezzanine (cause who writes an autobiography like that?).
Authors also can gift their characters with their personal beliefs. In class discussion on Mrs. Dalloway, we said that Virginia Woolf values solitary experiences (while talking about Septimus's pre-war life) which matches with Clarissa's enjoyment of spending time alone. I think this is a great way to give a character realistic traits; what is more realistic than your own real feelings?
True, I think The Mezzanine is basically the epitome of "write what you know". I think having a deep knowledge of what you're writing about gives it much more depth, and obviously makes it more personal. Now knowing that Woolf was planning on having Clarissa commit suicide at the end of the novel makes me even more curious to how similar they were.
ReplyDeleteGreat post Vinay! On a similar note, I often have to remind myself of the subtle difference between the narrator and the author. For the longest time I assumed that they were interchangeable, until Mr. Rayburn pointed out that there was a difference between the two, and since then I always try to recognize that fact. What I'm saying is that the similarity between the narrator and the author's voice is another indicator of the degree to which the author inserts themselves into the book.
ReplyDeleteYes, I agree. We got the sense of Baker's actual writing voice, not just Howie's, when Mr. Mitchell read to us his review of the Kindle, and the short piece on Steve Jobs.
DeleteI wouldn't want to go overboard declaring that Howie "is" Nicholson Baker, and it is important that we continue to approach the novel as fiction. The two might have a whole bunch of circumstances in common, but we have to grant the author the right to pick and choose and alter details from his own experience and use them as he will in constructing a work of fiction. But what I mean when I say that Howie and Baker seem interchangeable for all practical purposes is that for Baker to write the digressive chains of thought and association he attributes to Howie, he has to be having these same thoughts and associations himself. The comment so extensively on the floatability of drinking straws means that he had to have observed all this stuff himself at some point--he's not "making it up." And since so much of the novel is comprised of these kinds of observations, a lot of it *feels* like nonfiction (or "memoir," as Howie calls it). When Baker notes that stapler heads resemble a brontosaurus, he's not making this up--he's passing on an original perception that strikes the reader as true (and funny).
ReplyDeleteThis is probably similar to how Murakami's protagonists all seem to share a common, deadpan, detached but curious sensibility with each other--and, we presume, with the author. We'll revisit this question with Hemingway, who also tends to depict his protagonists with the same set of qualities.