Tuesday, January 18, 2011
A Pastiche: Hunger by Knut Hamson
My legs ached. I wanted so badly to sit down, but I knew I couldn't. I took a quick glance around, no benches, chairs, nothing. I knew what people would think if I sat right here, on the side of the street. No that was not acceptable, I'm no begger. I was a writer, and I would act like one, but oh, my legs, how they pained me. Just for a couple of minutes, no just one, I needed to sit. Again looking around, searching for a seat, somewhere. And then I saw the cafe on the other side of the road. Immediately I felt my legs taking me there. I entered. Soon, a waiter was at my service, taking me to my own personal table. Smiling, I went a long with him, feeling my stomach rumble a little from the smell of good food, ''I am a very picky eater, there are many things I just won't eat, they are not to my taste,'' I said. He eagerly responded saying that they had lots of variety in their food, surely I would like some of them, and after giving me a menu, he turned and left. I checked my pockets subtly. Five øre. I skimmed through the menu, growing more hungry reading the choices, there was nothing available for five øre. I set the menu down on the table, and got up. Seeing this the waiter came back, ''Is there anything I can get you?'' he asked politely. ''No, nothing in your menu pleases me, I shall eat elsewhere,'' with that, I left quickly. Did he doubt me? Did he realize I had no money to pay for his food?
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There are a lot of things in this post that correspond to Hunger. Firstly, the protagonist "felt my legs taking me there." corresponds to the protagonist in the novel. More often than not, the protagonist gets carried away in his thoughts and finds himself doing something before he has thought it through. Next, I think you portrayed the protagonist's attitude well when he is in the diner. In the book, the protagonist wants to save face, and he does this by trying to put on an ostentatious demeanor. You showed that well by the character saying that nothing pleased the character. One thing that I found that did not really fully grasp Hamsun's style was how you described him searching for money. In the book, the character gets very dismayed at his misfortune when he realizes he is broke. He also tends to describe the shabbiness of his clothes in an embarrassing way. A styling error is the way that you style Hamsun's dialogue. It is not like this in the book. Also, a peculiar thing I noticed in the book is that sometimes, Hamsun does not bother do write what another character is saying. For example, if the protagonist and this waiter were talking, he might have wrote, The waiter said __________, rather than giving the waiter his own quotes and speaking time. It is something in the book that I found a bit strange, but it also somewhat showed the protagonists self-centered behavior. Overall good job.
ReplyDeleteI think this is a great imitation. I can totally imagine this as a missing scene from the book, towards the end, perhaps. It is a great example of the absurdity of the character, in particular, his absurd pride. Your example is more subtle than in the book though. But you emphasize how he does not want to be percieved as a beggar. But does he want to be seen as a writer, either? In Hunger, he seems to always want to come off as more than he is.
ReplyDeleteWhen you say "I felt my legs taking me there," you manage to hint at something whic hI myself found very interesting: how the protagonist is subject to his impulses. He does not control them, they control him. HE always seems to be so passive. Another thing is your use of the word immediatey, which Hamsun uses often in the novel along with similar words and phrases like "suddenly," "all at once," etc. Kudos for noticing these subtle yet repetative phenomena :)
I aqgree with Asim on a few points. More description may have enhanced your piece as an imitaion (I, however, liked the part where he searches subtly for money. He always does that in the book, as though checking one more time to see if he really is broke).
I also agree that, in some places, your sentence structure is noticeably different from the book, and even from the rest of your pastiche. I appreciate that you seem to do this when you want to add another adjective or emphasis, and I'm sure these outliers can be easily edited. Just be careful about letting your own style influence parts of the piece, rather than Hamsun's.
Hi Ash! There are many elements that I see are connected with Hamsun's style. Firstly, in the book and in your pastiche, it is lucid that the protagonist is very concerned of how people see him and think of him. This is nicely expressed when you say: "I knew what people would think if I sat right here, on the side of the street."
ReplyDeleteI also like how you portrayed the two people that live within the protagonist. This can be observed when he answers his statement that I previously quoted with this response: "No that was not acceptable, I'm no beggar." Readers can note from this short conversation that he is controlled by his mind and HE is judging what he does much more that society. This does link to what Nina said previously of how he is "subject to his impulses".
Throughout your pastiche, there are little details you include which give away his character very well. From reading this, I can understand that he is desperate, stubborn and can be very polite and kind when someone respects him. Hamsun's writing style also allows readers to put together some of his characteristics with any activity he does.
I love the questions. It portrays the protagonist asking his mind for advice and again we see the mind controlling him in this aspect.
Overall, there are many elements you included that I can see Hamsun used in his book. Great job! :)