Written assignment in English A: Literature, IB Diploma, Sarala Birla Academy, Bangalore, November 2017. Written at seventeen. The reflective statement that went with it is left out.

To what extent are minor characters used to develop and portray the character of the protagonist in ‘Fatelessness’

Imre Kertesz’s ‘Fatelessness’ translated by Tim Wilkinson is set amidst World War II in Hungary and Germany during the years 1944-45. Autobiographical in nature, it chronicles the protagonist and narrator Gyuri’s traumatic journey from living in a Jewish ‘ghetto’ in Budapest to the inhumane life in concentration camps and concludes with his return to his home and humanity. Throughout this journey, Gyuri battles with conflicting ideas relating to identity and whether it is free will or fate that determines an individual’s ‘self’, discords which shape the development of both his character and the thematic subject of the book.

In ‘Fatelessness’, Gyuri undergoes a significant character arc while remaining minor characters are flat characters utilised by Kertesz as foils to sketch out certain traits of Gyuri or to stimulate a change in his character. The role of foils is especially evident, where key ideological differences between Gyuri and a foil such as the ‘older sister’ are used as a means to elucidate Gyuri’s views on topics like the acceptance of an individual’s control over his destiny, views which are defining aspects of his character. To achieve this, Kertesz employs a combined narrative technique of direct dialogue, and implicit dialogue which is created by a constant quoting by Gyuri of what other characters say. This frequent and selective nature of quoting allows us to view his perspective on the speech of other characters and highlights his bias towards these characters and beliefs, as shown with Uncle Lajos, where a subtle sense of disbelief is created by such cherrypicking. In addition, other characters like Bandi Citrom are used to spark introspection in Gyuri or influence his thoughts and actions leading to transformations, hereby acting as catalysts in his development.

Fleeting interactions with two characters at the beginning of the book - Mr Suto and the Baker, are employed to give us an insight into Gyuri’s rationality and his logical way of reasoning. Upon meeting Mr.Suto at the beginning of the book, Gyuri thinks -“I greeted him differently from the way I used to do, for after all he has, in a sense, risen to a higher status than us”1 , thus showing how he has learnt to deal with the unfair business sanctions against Jews in a pragmatic manner. His matter of fact tone seems to bear no ill sentiment of resentment, merely viewing the arrangement as what needs to be done. This maturity is further seen when Gyuri goes to collect the family’s daily ration of bread from the ‘Baker’. Utilised as as a everyday symbol of the mistreatment of Jews, the Baker cheats him of half a pound of bread. However, Gyuri remains immune to the attempted antagonization and instead has a minor epiphany - “I suddenly understood why his train of thought would make it impossible to abide Jews, for otherwise he might have had the unpleasant feeling that he was cheating on them”2. This realisation has a strong effect on Gyuri, changing the way he looks at the discrimination he faces, evidenced by him bringing it up later in the conversation with the older sister about how prejudiced tags are merely a facade used to justify exploitation.

Another important bearing on Gyuri’s character is his parent’s divorce, with his father having custody over Gyuri. This effect of a splintered home is subtly brought out by Kertesz and is used to chalk out his character. For instance, Gyuri’s mother, in an emotional outburst tries to make Gyuri feel guilty about him spending less time with her, “my mother explained that love means being ‘attached to someone,’ and as she sees it I am attached to my stepmother”3 . This affects Gyuri who remains conflicted between love for his mother and loyalty to his father. This conflict is one reason for his issues with identity which acts as a leitmotif throughout the work. Kertesz also shows how Gyuri is emotionally awkward, as he describes Gyuri’s tears while saying goodbye to his father, that Gyuri had - “been preparing all along to shed them unfailingly”4

We also learn about Gyuri’s attitude towards religion through his brief interaction with Uncle Lajos. Upon being asked whether he had prayed for his father, Gyuri feels contrite, “awakened in me a keen sense of negligence” and despite being disinterested in religion, prays with him. This as we5 see “almost convinced”6 him that he had “really accomplished something in Father’s cause”7. Hence, the author makes it apparent that his religious inclination was only to placate his guilt rather than genuine belief. This adds to his conflict in identity as even in the camps his lack of knowledge of Hebrew prevents him from feeling a sense of belonging as he mentions- “I now somewhat regretted that I was unable to pray”.8

Annamarie is a vital character in Gyuri’s development, with Kertesz using her aptly to depict a defining trait of Gyuri - his intellectualisation of experiences. This is especially present in his objective, scientific recounting of their first kiss - “I was left with the vague experience of a warm, moist, slightly sticky contact” where he avoids confronting his emotions and instead rationally dissects the event. This detachment of Gyuri from his emotions and his ‘ego’ is discernible throughout the work, accentuated by the aloofness of his narrative tone, and is especially limned in his stay in the concentration camps later on.

The only impactful minor character in the camp arc is Bandi Citrom, who is Gyuri’s sole friend in the concentration camp of Zeitz. Bandi is fundamental to key character growth in Gyuri, as he acts as a mentor to him and teaches him about surviving in the camps- “I was taught by Bandi Citrom”9, thus furnishing qualities to Gyuri that he adopts to survive. As time progresses, Gyuri becomes distant with Bandi as he stops caring about living, something Bandi tries to revert - “I even had rows with Bandi Citrom: I was ‘letting myself go”10 . However, Gyuri does not care and we hence understand how deep his indifference to the happenings around him ran at that point of time, that he had lost all hope.

While in the hospital, the author uses the character Pyetchka to poignantly portray how Gyuri views normal acts of kindness and friendship with astonishment. Pyetchka, the Medical Orderly of the room is described in a warm, glowing fashion, with Gyuri describing one of his acts of comforting a patient as - “done so cordially, with such alacrity, so affectionately”11 . Pyetchka seems to be unaffected by the dark shadow of the horrors of the camp and acts as though such a situation didn’t exist. Gyuri, who has become accustomed to being treated with contempt, takes time to adjust to being treated as a human being, shown skilfully by the manner in which he tries to recollect his own name - “after some rooting around among your memories, you hit upon it”12 . We also see how Gyuri is surprised at the lack of a facade towards hierarchy, as Pyetchka appears to show genuine respect to the Doctor - “simply paying him respect at his own discretion, of his own free will”13, a reminder of how Gyuri has grown cynical and expects hypocrisy from people rather than authenticity. Another commonplace occurrence that Gyuri seems to have forgotten is friendship, as when Pyetchka has his friend Zbishek over for dinner, he contemplates with wonder - “or in other words, they were friends”14 . Essentially, Pyetchka is used to showcase how Gyuri has lost touch with his human side, that he has forgotten how to behave and act in a fashion he was used to before the concentration camp. Hence, Pyetchka is used by Kertesz to showcase the transformation Gyuri has undergone due to his stay in the camp.

Post freedom, Gyuri converses with the Journalist and the Uncles and the juxtaposition of what the Journalist and the Uncles expect and what Gyuri says, acts as an ideal contrast to emphasise the change in character Gyuri has undergone and what his outlook on life now is. This polarity also prompts Gyuri to expound on his ideas and deliver a string of monologues, in which he reasons rhetorically “if there is such a thing as freedom, then there is no fate … that we ourselves are fate”15 , a line which encapsulates his entire philosophy that he has taken from the camps.

Fatelessness is focused on the transformation Gyuri undergoes due to the harrowing path he is forced upon and the unique defensive mechanism he adopts to survive in the camps and to continue living post freedom. Kertesz wants the readers to focus solely on Gyuri and the thematic message he delivers through him - about the acceptance of one’s role in one’s own fate and how identity is a manifestation of one’s own choices and decisions and not arbitrarily fixed, “that we ourselves are fate”. Hence, he ensures that readers are not detracted by the courses of other characters, which is achieved by utilising them as contrivances and foils to the development and portrayal of Gyuri.

  1. Kertész, Imre, and Tim Wilkinson. Fatelessness: A Novel. New York: Vintage International, 2004. 5. Print. ↩︎

  2. Kertész, Imre, and Tim Wilkinson. Fatelessness: A Novel. New York: Vintage International, 2004. 12. Print. ↩︎

  3. Kertész, Imre, and Tim Wilkinson. Fatelessness: A Novel. New York: Vintage International, 2004. 31. Print. ↩︎

  4. Kertész, Imre, and Tim Wilkinson. Fatelessness: A Novel. New York: Vintage International, 2004. 26. Print. ↩︎

  5. Kertész, Imre, and Tim Wilkinson. Fatelessness: A Novel. New York: Vintage International, 2004. 21. Print. ↩︎

  6. Kertész, Imre, and Tim Wilkinson. Fatelessness: A Novel. New York: Vintage International, 2004. 21. Print. ↩︎

  7. Kertész, Imre, and Tim Wilkinson. Fatelessness: A Novel. New York: Vintage International, 2004. 22. Print. ↩︎

  8. Kertész, Imre, and Tim Wilkinson. Fatelessness: A Novel. New York: Vintage International, 2004. 162. Print. ↩︎

  9. Kertész, Imre, and Tim Wilkinson. Fatelessness: A Novel. New York: Vintage International, 2004. 137. Print. ↩︎

  10. Kertész, Imre, and Tim Wilkinson. Fatelessness: A Novel. New York: Vintage International, 2004. 141. Print. ↩︎

  11. Kertész, Imre, and Tim Wilkinson. Fatelessness: A Novel. New York: Vintage International, 2004. 206. Print. ↩︎

  12. Kertész, Imre, and Tim Wilkinson. Fatelessness: A Novel. New York: Vintage International, 2004. 201. Print. ↩︎

  13. Kertész, Imre, and Tim Wilkinson. Fatelessness: A Novel. New York: Vintage International, 2004. 209. Print. ↩︎

  14. Kertész, Imre, and Tim Wilkinson. Fatelessness: A Novel. New York: Vintage International, 2004. 216. Print. ↩︎

  15. Kertész, Imre, and Tim Wilkinson. Fatelessness: A Novel. New York: Vintage International, 2004. 260. Print. ↩︎