Catcher In The Rye And The Kite Runner First Person Narrative

First person narrative expresses a point of view giving the greatest sense of identity of the character. People are all different. Different colours, religions, different morals and beliefs, and maybe most important different perspectives on the world. In both The Catcher in the Rye in The Kite Runner the male protagonist tells the course of events from their perspective, and their role as narrator has a significant impact on the novels In both The Catcher in the Rye, and The Kite Runner, first person narration played a critical role in helping the reader know and understand the main characters, Holden Caulfield Amir. From this perspective the reader gets to encounter the innermost thoughts on Holden Amir’s perspective on life and†¦show more content†¦Amir grew up with a sense of entitlement, and a loyal servant/friend in Hassan. After Hassan’s rape, Amir is stricken with grief and tries to console himself by saying that he is better than Hassan because Hass an is a Hazara and has a cleft lip. It’s here where the disgusting mindset of Amir, a perspective that only the reader has the opportunity to understand. â€Å"Hassan knew. He knew I d seen everything in that alley, that I d stood there and done nothing. He knew I had betrayed him and yet he was rescuing me once again, maybe for the last time.† (Kite 9.29) This quote perfectly encapsulates Amir’s feelings of extreme grief for what he did to Hassan. This is a recurring theme within the book, the reader sees the anxiety that Amir feels for betraying Hassan in the alley that day, and from that day he does his best to repent for his unatoned sins. Another importance of first person narrative within The Catcher in the Rye and The Kite Runner is it allows the reader to empathize with the characters of the novels. In both novels the narrator/main character is not the most likeable. Holden Caulfield is a very cynical and jaded narrator, and finds the hypocrisy and ugliness of the world around him almost unbearable, through his cynicism he tries to protect himself from the pain and disappointment of the adult world. Amir is a complex character like all protagonist narrator s are. He isn’t all bad, but he has a crippled conscious, and makes veryShow MoreRelatedLiterary Criticism : The Free Encyclopedia 7351 Words   |  30 Pagespublication of Wilhelm Meister s Apprenticeship by Johann Wolfgang Goethe in 1795–96,[8] or, sometimes, to Christoph Martin Wieland s Geschichte des Agathon of 1767.[9] Although the Bildungsroman arose in Germany, it has had extensive influence first in Europe and later throughout the world. Thomas Carlyle translated Goethe’s novel into English, and after its publication in 1824, many British authors wrote novels inspired by it.[10][11] In the 20th century, it spread to Germany, Britain,[12] France