A Complicated Kindness is roughly structured along the lines of the bildungsroman. In an essay of at least 6 paragraphs (including an introduction, at least 4 body paragraphs, and a conclusion), compare the novel’s approach to this genre. Make sure that you use specific examples from the novel to support your ideas.
Here is some background information about the bildungsroman genre that should help you get some ideas for your essay.
“A bildungsroman tells about the growing up or coming of age of a sensitive person who is looking for answers and experience. …. Usually in the beginning of the story there is an emotional loss which makes the protagonist leave on his journey. In a bildungsroman, the goal is maturity, and the protagonist achieves it gradually and with difficulty. The genre often features a main conflict between the main character and society. Typically, the values of society are gradually accepted by the protagonist and he is ultimately accepted into society – the protagonist’s mistakes and disappointments are over. In some works, the protagonist is able to reach out and help others after having achieved maturity.” (wiki)
To be categorized in the genre Bildungsroman, the plot must follow a certain course. The protagonist grows from child to adult in the novel. At an early stage, a loss or some sort of discontent pushes him or her away from home or the family setting, providing an impetus to embark on a journey. The main character often develops through “self-actualization”. The process of maturation is long, strenuous and gradual, involving repeated clashes between the protagonist’s needs and desires and the views and judgments enforced by an unbending social order.
Here are some common traits of the bildungsroman to consider in your essay. You do not need to repond to each of these points – chose those you feel are most relevant and focus your discussion around them:
1. the growing child in these novels is often orphaned or fatherless — if not literally, than metaphorically
2. the absence or loss of the parent symbolizes or parallels a loss of faith in the values of the protagonist’s home and family and leads to the search for an alternate parent or way or life
3. the journey from the home is often a journey away from provinciality
4. money or financial independence are important factors
5. many protagonists are tested not only by their new surroundings, or by money, but also by love — many times a pure love is contrasted to a destructive/unhealthy one
6. the central obstacle in many such novels is contained within the protagonist himself
7. most protagonists experience some sort of epiphany, where a moment of clarity helps them break through their delusions and changes them, either spiritually or in terms of their conduct, or both
8. the ending is often ambiguous, ambivalent, or lacks decisive closure
9. many Victorian bildungsroman were considered at least partly autobiographical
Of course, some Bildungsroman follow this paradigm more closely than others; it is not an exact blueprint. A good shorthand definition to remember is the following: The bildungsroman is a “novel of formation” or “education” that charts the development of the protagonist’s mind and character in the passage from childhood through various experiences (usually involving a spiritual crisis) into maturity and the recognition of his/her role in the world.
Use the order calculator below and get started! Contact our live support team for any assistance or inquiry.
[order_calculator]
