Teddy Khan: "To Max Gladstone: My Narrative Kink"

My Narrative Kink

By Teddy Khan

            I consistently read varying types of stories- from science fiction to historical fiction. Despite the wide variety of narratives presented in these stories, one thing usually makes a text stay with me and I guess you could call it my narrative kink. Although it sounds dark and twisted, my narrative kink is when a character reaches their emotional breakpoint and/or sees something that completely changes them from that moment on. When a character reaches their emotional breakpoint, I think it’s the only way to truly see what that character is made of and who they truly are as a person.

I don’t enjoy when the main character in a book goes through something traumatic and continues with their adventure as if nothing happened. I remember when Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins came out and most of my friends hated it because they thought Katniss just complained the whole time about her mental state after competing in The Hunger Games twice. They wanted her to jump right back into the fight against the Capital, but I thought it was more realistic for her, especially as a 17 year old, to struggle with the reality of what she lived through. I think when characters grapple with what happened to them throughout their story it makes them seem for real and adds more weight to the narrative.

I guess it’s hard to define what exactly is an emotional breaking point for a character so I think it’s best to give some examples and explain them. In “The Engine at Heartspring’s Center” by Roger Zelazny, the half-human, half-robot main character, Bork, lives on a planet that people go to when they want to die. The Center on the planet keeps attempting to have Bork allow himself to die and a woman is sent to convince him to die. He doesn’t know her true purpose and when he learns of her betrayal, he reaches his breakpoint. The woman ends up dying and so does the human part of Bork. The story ends with him wandering the planet alone, the robot part of him the only thing left functioning in his body and because of Bork reaching his breakpoint, this short story made an impression on me. Another example is after Harry Potter witnesses Bellatrix Lestrange kill Sirius Black. It was a heartbreaking moment in the series as Harry lost another father figure in his life. He is so devastated that he chases down Bellatrix and spells her with the Cruciatus Curse, a torture curse that is one of the three Unforgiveable Curses that no wizard is legally allowed to cast. After his death, Harry begins to isolate himself, believing those close to him will end up dying. The loss of Sirius Black and the effect it had on Harry was one part of the series that has stuck with me for a long time.

Not only do I believe these breakpoints give way to more complex characters, I believe these moments lead to the narrative becoming brutally honest and this allows for powerful moments in writing. In the short story, “‘Repent Harlequin!’ Said the Ticktockman”, after a character is captured and killed there is a compelling line that has stayed with me: “In every revolution a few die who shouldn’t, but they have to, because that’s the way it happens, and if you make only a little change, then it seems to be worthwhile”. It stuck with me because the story recognized that it’s not a happy story and tragic things will happen.

Although as a reader who gets very invested in the characters of a story and their wellbeing, the stories that resonate with me the most are those where the characters are pushed to their breaking point. I enjoy the raw feelings and powerful writing that typically follow these moments.