Nov 10, 2009

Zorba the Greek | Characters/Techniques

Kazantzakis often creates characters for a didactic purpose, and often his insistence on having his men and women serve as illustrations for philosophical principles causes them to appear ill-developed as people. Several of the minor characters in Zorba the Greek fail to stand out as individuals. Nevertheless, the main figures are remarkably well drawn, especially the two whose stories are at the center of the novel: Zorba and the narrator. Even in moments when their conversations are most philosophical, Kazantzakis is able to maintain a surprising degree of verisimilitude with...