Entrapment

The author writes the short story from a free indirect third person point of view in order to create a complex commentary on the universality of entrapment. Throughout the short story, the third person narrator shifts between Father Schwartz, Rudolph, and Carl Miller's perspectives, thus comparing and contrasting their emotional experiences. The narrative opens with a focus on Father Schwartz, and details the particulars of his circumstances and his related struggles. Though he is a priest, he does not feel the peace and comfort his station and faith might suggest. Rather, he is plagued by sorrow and restlessness, because he is "unable to attain a complete mystical union with our Lord" (73). The perpetual beauty and joy of the world outside his window further exacerbates his feelings of imprisonment. He has chosen a life that forbids him to partake in life's simple pleasures, convinced that if he...