About a Boy by Nick Hornby

English Essay

The novel About a boy by Nick Hornby Is constructed in such a way that it challenges our understanding of the world. Through the point of view and construction of the characters Will and Marcus my own understanding of the world, particularly ideas of masculinity are challenged.

The point of view in About a boy is limited omniscient, each chapter changes narrator from Will to Marcus, and the thoughts and feelings of both characters are conveyed to the readers. “"People often thought Marcus was being funny when he wasn’t. He didn’t understand it”, when Marcus describes how people reacted to him as a character who is somewhat non-typical. He does not understand people and is confused when his personality is questioned by other characters. I as a reader did not reject Marcus though, as I felt pity for the young boy. On the other hand, Will is immediately portrayed as a dislikeable, shallow character as he rates how cool he is according to a magazine.” "How cool was Will Freeman? This cool: he had slept with a woman he didn’t know very well in the last three months (five points)” The lack of any real depth of though as Will narrates the novel is often frustrating for readers, and supports my idea that men generally are less “deep” then women. This use of omniscient point of view is used to give the ideas and attitudes of the two extremely different masculine characters in the novel.

Will Freeman, one of the main characters, is a 36-year-old man who lives in London. He isn't really grown-up yet as he doesn't take life very serious. He doesn't work and actually never had a job because he gets enough money because of a famous Christmas carol his father once wrote. Besides he is not the family type because he doesn't want to get married or even children. He wants to live his own life and doesn't want to think of other people's problems or be responsible for them. According to his expensive clothes and haircut Will cares very much for his appearance. He thinks that his appearance impresses people especially women and makes him interesting for them. Will thinks about himself that he is very cool. This is proven for him by a questionnaire in a magazine, the result of which says that Will is even “sub-zero”. He is also very proud of his way of life and of what he is doing like listening to HipHop