Intelligent Risk Taking The Character of Esther

to adapt to many different people and situations is proven by the number of people who know her. In the journey of finding Esther, the narrator meets Mikhail who once was Esther’s translator when she went to Kazakhstan. “Mikhail insisted: I had to meet the beggars; they were part of his life and part of Esther’s life too.” 161. The conversations of other people and the things they say about Esther can give clues of her character Murphy 167. The conversation between the beggars and the narrator below shows that the beggars know Esther well and that she is adaptable. “So you’re the husband of the journalist?” “Are you Esther’s husband?” asks a female beggar, wide-eyed; she is dressed garishly, in a green hat and a purple coat. I don’t know what to say. “Why hasn’t she been back here?” ask someone else. “I hope she isn’t dead. She was always going to such dangerous places. I often told her she shouldn’t. Look what she gave me” And she shows me a scrap of bloodstained fabric, part of the dead soldier’s shirt. “No, she’s not dead,” I say. “But I’m surprised to hear that she used to come here.” 166. Esther makes friends with people from a lower economic background though she is a wife of a famous novelist. She can adapt to people who have different background from her. Surprisingly, the doctor who treats the narrator when he gets an accident knows Ether as well. Esther also makes friends with people who have a different educational background and profession from her. “…A brush with death always helps us to live our lives better; that’s what your wife told me when she gave me a bit of bloodstained fabric, which I always carry with me, even though, as a doctor, I see death, close to, every day.” “Did she say why she gave you the cloth?” 190. From here, the narrator knows that Esther makes relationships with many different people. All of them have a piece of cloth from Esther, which she says is given by a soldier before he died in a war. She is able to build relationships with people from different backgrounds and they all accept her.

4.3 The Narrator’s Motivation in Bringing Back His Wife, Esther

Most people in the world, whether they realize it or not, live in an organized way. They manage their daily activities. They know when they have to go to work or to school, to go with friends, to visit relatives, to have a vacation, or just to enjoy the day with the person they love. Everything goes like they want and they do not have to worry about it. But what if something unexpected happens? Most people do not prepare themselves for the unexpected things. They are happy with what they are and what they have. So, when something unexpected happens, they do not know what to do. The same condition also happens on married life. The narrator in the novel The Zahir is left by his wife, Esther. Esther’s disappearance is an unexpected thing for the narrator. He thinks he does not have problems in his marriage. He does not quarrel with Esther before she leaves. There are some disagreements that usually happen in ordinary marriages but not serious problems. He states his opinion to the policeman on the day Esther leaves. He asks me if we have domestic problems. I say that we’ve been together for ten years and have the same problems most married couples have – nothing more 6. PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI