The first person narrator throughout these stories is Joe Dowdel, nine years old at the opening and a young soldier at the close. The stories are all told from Joey's point of view, although the writer shifts point of view now and again to accommodate one of the other characters, especially Mary Alice and occasionally Grandma. Since Joe is only nine years old when the stories begin, it is natural that his point of view reflects a younger child's limited understanding of things.
As the children grow up over the next years covered in the short stories, the point of view deepens and changes. The most important change is Joe being able to observe and understand more complex behaviors in his grandmother. In the first chapters, she seems frightening and a little capricious. When.....
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