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If the character is drawn starkly enough, even very small changes can be very noticeable. The best example I know of is in Nabokov's Lolita. The narrator is an unrepentant molester, who is basica...
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#3: Attribution notice added
by
System
·
2019-12-08T05:54:16Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/25944 License name: CC BY-SA 3.0 License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision
by
Chris Sunami
·
2019-12-08T05:54:16Z (almost 5 years ago)
If the character is drawn starkly enough, even very small changes can be very noticeable. The best example I know of is in Nabokov's _Lolita_. The narrator is an unrepentant molester, who is basically wholly focused on his own wants and needs. Late in the novel, he gains what amounts to a single moment of clarity where he senses, no matter how dimly, that what he has done is wrong. It's a significant moment because of how completely selfish he has been up to that moment. You might also compare the main character in _Remains of the Day_. Although not at all sociopathic, he is very emotionally constrained. On the surface, not much happens in his life, but the writer gradually helps you understand that he has strong emotional attachments of which even he himself is unaware.
#1: Imported from external source
by
System
·
2017-01-09T14:56:33Z (almost 8 years ago)
Original score: 2