Point of View

The novel is written in the third person omniscient point of view. This means that the unnamed narrator provides not only the plot sequence but also the thoughts and feelings of some of the characters, primarily Martin Arrowsmith. As a third person omniscient storyteller, the narrator can transition from different characters and inform the reader of thoughts and feelings of characters that would not normally be available to just one person with a limited perspective. An example of this type of point of view occurs in this passage early in the novel: "There was prairie freshness in the autumn day but Martin did not heed. He hurried into the slate-colored hall of the Main Medical, up the wide stairs to the office of Max Gottlieb. He did not look at passing students, and when he bumped into them he grunted in confused apology. It was a...