So in thinking about this idea that the element of character has really kind of fallen out of modern writing, I have to ask the question why? Of course, it would be helpful to be able to trace some kind of history of this phenomenon, but at this point, I can only postulate that a lack of character, or perhaps an inability to arrive at a literary character that is fully expressed, reflects a perceived lack of agency within the modern person. Within the narrative, (like Shame or The Reluctant Fundamentalist) the message is really pushed within an allegory, within the structure of the narrative, or within the body of the narrative framework. However, when we think about the effectiveness of the message and the fact that the creation of that message is essentially an action of a person that demonstrates agency...I don't know, there seems to be a contradiction here.

Of course, I'm working off an assumption that may or may not be right...

I guess what I'm trying to get at is...if there is this apparent reduced personal efficacy in our post-modern, post-post modern world...How exactly are the writers responding to this by creating non-character driven plots?