The Ordinary Character

I didn’t have to think for more than five seconds to decide whether or not I believe a novel can be written about any person. My instinct is yes, and even with further consideration my answer remains yes. An obvious reason behind this answer is that plenty of novels have been written about seemingly ordinary people or common events. The first example that popped into my head was Revolutionary Road, by Richard Yates. Frank and April Wheeler are two perfectly normal (albeit very flawed) people. The story’s main conflict is a failed marriage, which statistics tell us is the conclusion one out of every two marriages reaches. And yet Revolutionary Road is a supremely beautiful story, and its finale left me crying like a baby. Of course, this is certainly a testament to the power of Yates’s writing. It demonstrates, however, that any character can become a novel if put into the hands of the proper writer.

Why is this? For someone who believes that the world should be looked at in a poetic way, one answer becomes very clear. Every person possesses a quality within themselves that could be the basis for an interesting character. This quality can be less obvious than, for example, Holden’s hypocrisy or Humbert Humbert’s pedophilia. Additionally, every person is vulnerable to human emotions that are the basis for great stories. We all feel joy, and we all feel pain. If there is somebody who feels neither, they might also make a wonderfully weird story. Every person also experiences moments that can be interesting, if framed in the right way. We all experience times of significance, or we wouldn’t be any different than the way we were born. In this case, it might be the writer’s responsibility to really feel the life of his or her character, to romanticize it a little, or to allow himself or herself to be awe-struck by the ordinary or surprised by the petty. As I said before, any person can provide the material for a great story. It takes a great author, however, to possess the instinct for choosing exactly which threads to pull out of a person’s life and weave together into a story. 

Authors do have one small advantage. We as humans seem to be inherently and inescapably fascinated by the lives of others. I think this is for two reasons. First, stories are rewarding to readers. There is something about the conclusion of a story that feels enriching and satisfying. Second, as social creatures, we like to try to make sense of other people. There is something intriguing in the attempt to figure out the subjectivity of another person.

To answer the question of whether I would want to read a novel about my life, the only response I have is I’m not sure. As I said earlier, part of what draws us to stories is trying to understand the perspectives of others or looking for significance in the moments of their lives. This is obviously not as tempting with my own self. I already understand my perspective. I also said, however, that characters become interesting based on how the author chooses to portray them. In this light, reading a novel about myself would be fascinating because it would allow me to learn what makes me distinctive or what shape my life takes to one not caught up inside of it. To be completely honest, though, I probably wouldn’t reason in this way if actually presented with such a book. Curiosity would win no matter what, and I would always say yes.