Originally posted by: sanfan
Yes Asmita you are rightโฆa catalyst is not expected to undergo change while being the cause for action. A change agent
In literature however this chemical definition is not literally applied but seen in similar terms.
It is seen as an event or a person that demands an immediate response of the hero. I use the term hero but basically the main protagonist. Arshi has been on the scene long so why the reference to her as a catalyst nowโฆ
Arshi is the catalyst always if you see in the story because she is the pivot of the moral dilemma for Ani. Yet a catalyst depending on situation can afford the protagonist time for action. In the past Ani was always buying time in respect of the Arshi question.
But what has happened to her at this stage causes the greatest urgency in Ani. He is immediately forced into a decision. When she is in burns unit or she loses the will to live or her use of limbs ( I know all poorly executed in the narrative), Ani is forced to take a call. We donโt know his state of mind but can infer many thingsโฆhe may be guilty ( why is that so impossible to consider?) He had professed love to Jhanak in a deep moment of passion, goes on to show his anger to Jhanak by faking his love for Arshi and from his angle when the fire incident happens maybe guilt was his foremost thought, this is one of the inferences. For a person, who helped a stranger and stayed on to support her in her difficult times, itโs not hard to imagine that such a man could suffer pangs of guilt for not being fair to Arshi, his feeling for Jhanak aside.
Coming back to the tag of catalyst and placement of Arshi in that cornerโฆ I am certain she is thatโฆ catalysts often knock on your door to demand your attentionโฆ sometimes the knock isnโt persistent and it is possible to ignore or buy time while answering the question which Ani did all this while but this time around the knock is persistent and Ani cannot ignore it so he has chosen to answer the door.
A catalyst will always present you with dilemmas and if the catalyst doesnโt present a good dilemma, he or she is not a good catalyst ๐
In answering that dilemma, the hero will make a decision that will carry a price . This dilemma is in effect a test of the heroโs decision makingโฆ what does he prioritise and how In making the decision, he will have to let go of something which is described as the price to pay. How he moves from one Act to another is determined by his choices. If he had chosen to come clean with Arshi on falling in love with Jhanak, he may not have Jhanak in his life but the story may have ended there ๐๐๐
Also itโs not the writerโs responsibility to solve the heroโs problem but his craft to present situations that will test the hero to move the story from point A to Point B
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