The Painted Bird
question
Identity
Fliss
Mar 24, 2013 03:37PM
Has anyone read this? For those who have what did you think of the author not identifying the boy or the towns he went to?
I think the point that Jerzy Kosinski was trying to put across is that whether or not the boy was Jewish, or Roma or whatever he was first and foremost a victim and the people who abused him did so because of their lack of morals not because they were from a particular country.
In other words, a victim is a victim and a perpetrator is a perpetrator regardless of their religion, ethnicity or national origin.
If anyone knows of other similar books please let me know. :)
I think the point that Jerzy Kosinski was trying to put across is that whether or not the boy was Jewish, or Roma or whatever he was first and foremost a victim and the people who abused him did so because of their lack of morals not because they were from a particular country.
In other words, a victim is a victim and a perpetrator is a perpetrator regardless of their religion, ethnicity or national origin.
If anyone knows of other similar books please let me know. :)
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Leaving the name out creates distance between the reader and the protagonist as well. This boy could be any boy. And this then works to make it intimate as well as the boy could be your brother, son, friend, etc.
I agree. I think he chose to leave out a name to make things more accessible. A name can conjure up labels or biases, whether we know it or not.
If you're interested in similar books, you should really check out BLOOD MERIDIAN by Cormac McCarthy and SOUNDER by W.H. Armstrong. Both have young protagonists with no names who endure much in terms of the world's cruelty.
If you're interested in similar books, you should really check out BLOOD MERIDIAN by Cormac McCarthy and SOUNDER by W.H. Armstrong. Both have young protagonists with no names who endure much in terms of the world's cruelty.
Or the boy could be the reader; it could be here and now--there but for fortune go you and I.
Jerzy always took pains to point out that this was a novel, "fiction" inspired by personal experience and events he observed. Unfortunate, then, the witch hunt 'a la Frey' over inconsistencies with reality.
Kosinski intended this as literature. I believe he succeeded.
I agree with the other posts that leaving the boy nameless was intended to suck the reader in, to leave them no escape other than to throw the book on the floor. Think of Captain Quint kicking and struggling as he inevitably slides down the sloping boat deck into the shark's gullet in Jaws.
Kosinski intended this as literature. I believe he succeeded.
I agree with the other posts that leaving the boy nameless was intended to suck the reader in, to leave them no escape other than to throw the book on the floor. Think of Captain Quint kicking and struggling as he inevitably slides down the sloping boat deck into the shark's gullet in Jaws.
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