An Abundance of Katherines Characters
In my Accelerated English Language Arts, I am currently reading the novel An Abundance of Katherines, written by John Green, and so far, I am very pleased with the contents of the book. Not only are they plots and subplots relatable to it's demographic and rather realistic, but it also delivers to us a very memorable set of leading characters. These characters include former child prodigy and lover of all girls named "Katherine", Colin Singleton, his brash, tongue and cheek acquaintance Hassan Harbish, and the newly-met tour guide turned friend of theirs, Lindsey Lee Wells. These characters have shaped the novel a great deal, making the overall tone a mixture of comedy, joy, and at times, mystery. In this blog. I will be presenting my observations about the characters mentioned earlier and how they have shaped my overall view of them.
After witnessing the various actions and events involving the characters listed above, I have been able to put thought into a character I would like to have a personal conversation with. This character would be Colin Singleton. I would find a conversation with him particularly interesting due to his past as a child prodigy. Very little people in the world are born with an ability to comprehend complicated mathematics, languages, etc. at an early age, but Colin is a rare exception. In light of this, his upbringing was rather unique. Questions I would ask Colin would include the following:
- When did your family realize your early intelligence and how did they approach it?
- When did you realize your own intelligence?
- How did perform when placed in an environment with kids who possessed average intelligence?
- How did perform when placed in an environment with kids who possessed your level of intelligence?
- How did your peers react to your early intelligence?
While An Abundance of Katherines may have a pretty innocent set of characters communicating with each other throughout, they still tend to act in certain ways as to where the reader forms a strong like or dislike for them. I am no different. As I flipped through the book page by page, I began to observe how the characters acted, inciting one of two reactions:
- "That was immensely admirable!"
- "Why would they do/say such a thing?"
One character that seemed to constantly invoke the former was Lindsey Lee Wells. Despite her occasional remarks of displeasure towards her mom, such as her sighs of annoyance when asked to close up her shop, that had me rolling my eyes, I overall found Lindsey to be a character who I was in agreement with her words. From approaching Colin and Hassan in a mature, pleasant manner, even when Hassan made rather questionable remarks, to scrapping her former "boring" tour script to a more lighthearted, nonchalant talk, the reader notices her humbleness and likability.
In lieu of this, there was a particular character who never failed to make me wish for their disappearance at times. This character would be, surprisingly, Colin Singleton. While I have stated in the past that I found his upbringing intruiging, I still cannot fathom the annoyance he provokes in me. This is primarily due to his perpetual infatuation with his previous girlfriends. From relating nearly any event to one involving a "Katherine" he had dated, to comparing the looks of those to them, I become mournful of a time where he hadn't spoken of a "Katherine", which became nearly nonexistent.
Despite my subjective views that I have just expressed, I often am able to forget about these feelings and ponder one characteristic in the characters. Importance, and after deep analysis of their actions, I have concluded which character I believe is most important to the plot. This character would have to be Hassan Harbish. While the novel may not revolve around him and his outlook, I still firmly believe that he could shape the events for the better/worse. From his tongue and cheek approach to various situations to his occasional brashness, I have found myself bemused as to his innocence. It is often hard to tell whether Hassan is the potential protagonist or antagonist, and this uncertainty incites the reader to keep a bird's eye on almost all of his dialogue/actions.
In my Accelerated English Language Arts, I am currently reading the novel An Abundance of Katherines, written by John Green, and so far, I am very pleased with the contents of the book. Not only are they plots and subplots relatable to it's demographic and rather realistic, but it also delivers to us a very memorable set of leading characters. These characters include former child prodigy and lover of all girls named "Katherine", Colin Singleton, his brash, tongue and cheek acquaintance Hassan Harbish, and the newly-met tour guide turned friend of theirs, Lindsey Lee Wells. These characters have shaped the novel a great deal, making the overall tone a mixture of comedy, joy, and at times, mystery. In this blog. I will be presenting my observations about the characters mentioned earlier and how they have shaped my overall view of them.
After witnessing the various actions and events involving the characters listed above, I have been able to put thought into a character I would like to have a personal conversation with. This character would be Colin Singleton. I would find a conversation with him particularly interesting due to his past as a child prodigy. Very little people in the world are born with an ability to comprehend complicated mathematics, languages, etc. at an early age, but Colin is a rare exception. In light of this, his upbringing was rather unique. Questions I would ask Colin would include the following:
- When did your family realize your early intelligence and how did they approach it?
- When did you realize your own intelligence?
- How did perform when placed in an environment with kids who possessed average intelligence?
- How did perform when placed in an environment with kids who possessed your level of intelligence?
- How did your peers react to your early intelligence?
While An Abundance of Katherines may have a pretty innocent set of characters communicating with each other throughout, they still tend to act in certain ways as to where the reader forms a strong like or dislike for them. I am no different. As I flipped through the book page by page, I began to observe how the characters acted, inciting one of two reactions:
- "That was immensely admirable!"
- "Why would they do/say such a thing?"
One character that seemed to constantly invoke the former was Lindsey Lee Wells. Despite her occasional remarks of displeasure towards her mom, such as her sighs of annoyance when asked to close up her shop, that had me rolling my eyes, I overall found Lindsey to be a character who I was in agreement with her words. From approaching Colin and Hassan in a mature, pleasant manner, even when Hassan made rather questionable remarks, to scrapping her former "boring" tour script to a more lighthearted, nonchalant talk, the reader notices her humbleness and likability.
In lieu of this, there was a particular character who never failed to make me wish for their disappearance at times. This character would be, surprisingly, Colin Singleton. While I have stated in the past that I found his upbringing intruiging, I still cannot fathom the annoyance he provokes in me. This is primarily due to his perpetual infatuation with his previous girlfriends. From relating nearly any event to one involving a "Katherine" he had dated, to comparing the looks of those to them, I become mournful of a time where he hadn't spoken of a "Katherine", which became nearly nonexistent.
Despite my subjective views that I have just expressed, I often am able to forget about these feelings and ponder one characteristic in the characters. Importance, and after deep analysis of their actions, I have concluded which character I believe is most important to the plot. This character would have to be Hassan Harbish. While the novel may not revolve around him and his outlook, I still firmly believe that he could shape the events for the better/worse. From his tongue and cheek approach to various situations to his occasional brashness, I have found myself bemused as to his innocence. It is often hard to tell whether Hassan is the potential protagonist or antagonist, and this uncertainty incites the reader to keep a bird's eye on almost all of his dialogue/actions.
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