"All fiction can be profitably regarded as argument." -Ronald Sukenick

Sukenick's quote above almost mimics that of Mark Twain's "Truth is stranger than fiction. Fiction has to make sense." If fiction is to make sense as Twain so brilliantly believed, then fiction must have a purpose, and most tend to associate purpose with persuasion.With that said, Sukenick's quote proves true. The more I think about this quote, the more sense Sukenick's claim makes. Most students of literature have almost been trained to see fiction as a form of argument. I've certainly been trained to do this: to look for this "big message" of fiction. Looking for the "big message" is a great example of argument in fiction.

To be more precise though, I've taken Sukenick's quote and applied it to one of my favorite texts, Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner. When rereading this text, I am always looking for the argument/arguments Hosseini makes with the story of Amir and Hassan. It is my belief that Hosseini is commenting on the bigger, far more real world of Afghanistan. For instance, I almost believe that Khaled Hosseini is arguing that even with the challenges many Afghans faced, there is still hope to build a better, more positive world because positive stories like that of Amir and Hassan make Afghanistan what it is. I truly think that Hosseini's argument centers on the people of Afghanistan. I refuse to think that he is simply telling a story because we tell stories (we share fictional narratives in particular) to create links between people, to comment on human nature and the bigger world. With this, people relate to narratives, and because of this attraction, narratives (fictional or not) will continue to be powerful. Narratives stick with audiences. I may not know enough about Afghanistan, but I know the story of Amir and Hassan, and I agree with Hosseini's argument that within time, we will rebuild/glue ourselves/our countries together.

Fiction is all about argument; fiction always has a rhetorical purpose. As such, because fiction always has a rhetorical purpose, Sukenick's quote above proves true. Our fictional narratives are based on the world we live in, on our history, and as a result, we can use fictional narratives to create pieces like The Kite Runner that simply stick.