Does the answer change (1) over time?

One of the central concepts of Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel When We Were Orphans is that an individual’s identity is made up of memories (and, indeed, the recalling of those memories). As you know from your reading, the novel is comprised exclusively of memories, as Christopher Banks writes retrospectively about his life experiences.
Your assignment for Essay #2 is to answer the following two questions in bold: Who is Christopher Banks? How do the memories that he presents in When We Were Orphans contribute to the construction of his identity? Is he a force for good, rooting out evil? Is he someone who is genuinely loved by those around him? Is he a poseur, suffering from delusions of grandeur? Does the answer change (1) over time? (2) because of his own interpretation of himself (as filtered through his journal-esque writings)? Because the novel relies on what Ishiguro calls “dream logic,” are there some characters who represent parts of Banks’ personality/identity? (these non-bolded questions are examples of how your essay may approach the prompt; however, the only questions that you must answer are the ones in bold, above).
Whatever answer(s) your essay provides, the most important thing to remember while writing is that your essay must explain (in the thesis, topic sentences, and body paragraph analysis) WHY your essay is making this argument. It will be wise to structure your essay in approximately the following way:
A thesis statement that articulates the WHAT, WHY, and HOW for your answer(s) to the prompt (with TAG statement for the novel). Please remember that the ONLY information that should be in the introduction is the TAG statement and thesis statement (if you wish to refresh your memory about best practices for writing thesis statements, please revisit the “Essay Writing Principles” video).
A topic sentence (which may be more than one sentence) at the beginning of each body paragraph that provides clear WHAT and WHY statements (how to construct a solid topic sentence is also covered in the “Essay Writing Principles” video).
Multiple pieces of evidence in support of the topic sentence (i.e. 3-5 quotations from the text) in each body paragraph.
Analysis that links the evidence to the topic sentence. The analysis must not be summary of the quotation; rather, it must explain WHY the quotation supports the topic sentence.
A conclusion that articulates the lesson of the thesis argument and then answers the question, SO WHAT? (please watch the “Conclusions Tutorial” video for more information about these concepts).
The audience for this essay is an educated, academic reader who is familiar with Ishiguro’s novel; therefore, there should be no summary in your essay (since the reader has already read the text), nor should there be use of first person pronouns (“I,” “my,” “we,” “our”) or second person pronouns (“you,” “your,” “yours”). Because the essay must be approximately 5 pages, the introduction should reach near the bottom of page 1 or the top of page 2, and each of the body paragraphs should be approximately one page each (aim for 3-4 body paragraphs); the conclusion should be approximately ½-⅔ of a page.
While I have provided my own interpretation of the text in the video notes, and we have discussed other possible interpretations as a class, please keep in mind that I do not have any specific answer in mind. That is to say, please give yourself permission to answer this question in whatever way you find most compelling. As odd as it may sound, I care little about what your answer is–I care a great deal about HOW you structure your answer so as to convince your reader. So long as you justify your responses–and at all times explain WHY you are making such an argument–your essay will likely be on the right path.
The Format:
All essay outlines and drafts MUST be composed in Google Docs using your IVC Google Account (students may not use their own personal Google Accounts nor may students compose outlines/drafts elsewhere and copy/paste them into the Google Docs). Your final-draft-in-progress must be approximately 5 complete double-spaced pages with 1-inch margins in 12-point, Times New Roman font (N.B. the Google Course Kit Draft Docs have been pre-formatted, so please do not alter the format settings). Be sure to use MLA format for your in-text citations and your works cited page. Refer to the syllabus for the late paper policy. When you submit your final-draft-in-progress to Canvas/TurnItIn, please ensure that it is in PDF format.