A Pale View of Hills | Literary Precedents

A Pale View of Hills Literary Precedents

The technique of a narrator sifting through memories to attempt to arrive at truth or revelation is a staple of many books, including works such as Norman Maclean's A River Runs Through It (1976) and Margaret Atwood's Cat's Eye (1989). Perhaps the most artful use of this technique of a narrator who comes to realize the falseness of his past is in Ford Madox Ford's The Good Soldier (1915). While Etsuko does not reach the level of awareness of Ford's narrator, the technique is put to similar use.