How should a person be - Essay Example

How Should a Person Be? The novel, “How Should a Person Be?” by Sheila Heti has many characteristics of an autobiographical novel. In this novel, Sheila is the main character. The novel revolves around the life of Sheila and her friends, many of whom are artists. Mainly, Sheila is writing a play, and hangs out with her friends most of the times. I consider the beginning part of the novel to be quite boring. Here Sheila talks about her failed marriage and other uninteresting things. The story in the novel picks up again and becomes interesting when Sheila meets Margaux, a painter.

In real life, Margaux is a painter, and she is a close friend of Sheila. Therefore, it emerges that Sheila Heti, the author of this novel, used real characters in her novel. Hence, this novel can be considered to include both fiction and non-fiction. This therefore, is among some of the most interesting aspects of this novel.I love reading autobiographical novels. This novel offers a touch of autobiography, thus, is a good read to me. Reading some parts of this novel might feel like reading the diary of an individual.

Additionally, considering the fact that the experiences shared in this novel might be real-life experiences, this makes the novel to be more interesting. Since this novel bears elements of autobiography, a major aspect is the use of transcribed conversations between Sheila and other characters. There are also many emails that are shared in this novel. This kind of style is quite unique in most novels, therefore, makes this novel to stand out from others.The author of this novel was creative in the way she developed this novel, including the style.

Nonetheless, this novel primarily explores the life of Sheila and her friends. In the novel, it is clear that Sheila thinks about how she ought to conduct and run her life. This therefore, gives the meaning of the title of the novel. Sheila attempts to unveil how a person should be, by exploring different details of her life, including those of her friends. Therefore, the storyline of this novel is all about relationships, work, and pursuits of the characters. Nonetheless, the different parts of the novel have different levels of interest to any reader.

While some parts are interesting, a reader might find others boring. Additionally, some parts are complicated while others have a simple flow. Furthermore, some parts of the novel are very well written, as compared to others. Additionally, some parts of the novel are quite insightful, and a reader might learn a few ideas and lessons. Nonetheless, this novel revolves around different themes, as this bases on the lives of characters.Overall, this novel poses a challenge in determining whether it is based on reality or fiction.

Therefore, this blurs the line between reality and art. Nonetheless, the novel presents considerable level of truth, which different readers might identify with. However, this does not succeed in answering the question it poses of how a person should be. Despite the different flaws of the novel, this remains relevant to the present generation, especially to the people in their twenties. This is all about how to be an artist, how to be a woman, and how to be human, including the choices one should make along the way.