Decline and Fall | Style

Decline and Fall Style

Point of View

Decline and Fall is told from the third person point of view. The narrator is not omniscient. The narrator only observes what Paul observes, but, at the same time, the narrator clearly possesses powers of perception beyond Paul's. On the morning Paul watches Margot work at her office in London, for instance, the napve bridegroom is completely unaware that what his fiancye is doing has anything illicit about it. The narrator, however, seems completely conscious of the fact that Margot runs a franchise of South American brothels.

The narrator, then, is more or less in the position of the reader. Paul's audience will never be as blind as he is to the events around him. Indeed, Paul's persistent innocence is a major aspect of his character, but the reader's anticipation of the major and minor disasters about to befall the protagonist are necessary to the humor of the novel.

Setting

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