WORDS OF AN HONEST MAN

Being a successful, well-known writer does not only require talent but also requires luck. John Fante is a writer who couldn’t be popular by writing a classic but according to a very well known writer, Charles Bukowski, Fante is one of the greatest writers in the history. When I came across with Bukowski’s introduction on the first page of Fante’s novel, Ask The Dust, it absolutely caught my attention. As an admirer of American literature, I heard Fante’s name for the first time. After I finished the book, Arturo Bandini’s life, which was based on his desire of being a writer, seemed a lot like of Fante’s life. Fante was not only telling the story of Arturo but was also using him to reflect two major themes: a person’s basic needs and the struggle with the creation of the identity. As a consequence of my realization, I worked on the question ‘how does a writer use major characters to reflect the major themes?’ in my essay. While I was analyzing the novel, I tried to point out that Fante did not only create the personalities of the characters but also their backgrounds, ethnicities, lifestyles, vocational tendencies and the environments that they live in order to demonstrate the whole concept of the themes. I aimed to approach from all the perspectives that affect the reflections of the main themes while evaluating the functions of the characters. As a result, I came to conclusion that the explanation of the major problems in a society can only be possible by taking a close look to the individuals. The role of the writer is to choose the correct example affected by the problem, like picking samples. According to the novel, Fante creates the reality that reflects the major problems and chooses Arturo and Camilla in order to demonstrate those problems