This week in class we discussed the novel Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. We talked about the concept of "form is content," meaning that the author writes a certain way in order to evoke certain emotions and responses from the reader. The following excerpt from the book shows how the author uses the form of writing in second person to provide the reader with a more personal experience.
"You open your mouth. Open it so wide your jaws creak. You order you lungs to draw air, NOW, you need air, need it NOW. But your airways ignore you. They collapse, tighten, squeeze, and suddenly you're breathing through a drinking straw. Your mouth closes and your lips purse and all you can manage is a strangled croak. Your hands wriggle and shake. Somewhere a dam has cracked open and a flood of cold sweat spills, drenches your body. You want to scream. You would if you could. But you have to breathe to scream.
Panic."
In this specific passage, the author uses many different writing techniques in order to give his writing the exact feel he wants the reader to see. Hosseini includes fragments, which provide, in my opinion, the reader with a sense of urgency. Another thing the author includes is a very detailed use of sensory language. Through his use of sight, touch, smell, sound, and taste, we can get a clear sense of the situation and actually feel as if we are living in that moment. After reading this passage, I can clearly see how important the concept of "form is content" really is. This idea is what separates the good writers from the great writers.
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