Point of View

The story is written in third person from a semi-omniscient point of view. It's the only way for the reader to fully understand the story and the plot without having too much knowledge that would give the story away. For the most part, the book is written from Barabbas' point of view, but that point of view changes to those characters with whom Barabbas interacts. For example, when Barabbas is staying with the fat woman, there are looks into her thoughts about Barabbas. That's necessary for the story because the reader then has a chance to compare what the fat woman knew of Barabbas before his sentence was commuted and how Barabbas acts afterward. Without that balance, the reader would be confused and would never understand how the experience changed Barabbas. There are other times when this is also necessary for understanding - when Barabbas is...