Carlos Ruiz Zafon Research Paper

Life has many obstacles that can sometimes inspire idiosyncratic events in one’s mind. When stuck in a period of writer’s block, authors often look towards their recollection of memories for inspiration in their novels. Famous author Ernest Hemingway says, “In order to write about life, first you must live it. (Hemingway, Ernest)” The simplest way to express your life story and experiences as an author is to incorporate these details into your writing. Author Carlos Ruiz Zafon is similar to his characters in terms of loving literature and all the mysteries that lie between the lines of a page. Ranging from the protagonist and author both being raised in Barcelona to Zafon comparing himself to the mysterious author in his novel, Julian Carax, Zafon’s life appears to be one on the biggest inspirations for the events that
Some may argue that Carlos Ruiz Zafon’s life experiences did not affect the authorship of the text, but fail to notice that Zafon himself has stated that his life is one of his biggest inspirations in writing. During a web chat where Zafon was answering questions, he answered, “I am inspired by life, by my personal experience, my memories, what I see inside of me and around of me... I am also inspired by literature, by music and beauty in general. I am a fool for beauty. (Live Webchat: Carlos Ruiz Zafon)” Zafon uses his life experiences to plant small seeds of himself into his many characters, but still has them bloom into their own unique personas. The setting in the novel includes some pieces of Zafon’s hometown, Barcelona, where there are both buildings and areas pulled from Zafon’s imagination and areas of Barcelona that can be seen in person. Although Zafon does not specifically state what events inspired different scenes, the diction and intense feeling within his phrases speaks more than any confirmation