“in Narratives, What We Are Not Told Is Just as Important as What We Are Told.”

Coleridge also uses gaps in narrative in order to create a desired effect. The enigmatic introduction of the Mariner, in ‘The Rime of the Ancient Mariner’, simply “It is an Ancient Mariner” gives a weighty sense of foreshadowing and gravitas. Here the impersonal pronoun suggests a being not of this world; the Mariner’s appearance is afforded little description other than the wedding guest’s horrified interjections, that he looks “as brown as the ribbed sea sand.” This figurative comparison is more effective than any direct physical description as it associates the Mariner with the elemental natural world, as if he is part of the fabric of the setting and the story. Therefore ironically, by leaving a gap in description, his essence is more fully portrayed rather than superficially illustrated. An even more significant gap is that the Mariner gives no discernible reason as to why he committed the fateful deed of shooting the Albatross. Here Coleridge is leading the reader to their own broader conclusions on the motives of human nature and on the spiritual ramifications of physical exploration.
Hosseini’s Amir, however, seemingly leaves very few gaps in his detailed and confessional narrative, but this produces an effect all on its own. Amir’s casual admittance of incriminating thoughts such as “What does he know?...flat-nosed Hazara” establishes trust between the narrator and reader as well as gaining insight into the true motives of the characters in the story. However, there is one gap in the narrative that I find is effectual in terms of characterisation. Assef, one his first appearance is described as being a sociopath, however we are given very little insight into why he is like this, thus denying the reader of any understanding of the play’s main antagonist. Plot information is also withheld. The matter of Hassan and Amir’s true relationship is not revealed until the seventeenth chapter in the book. This allows the reader to share in the revelation almost at...