Point of View

The novel’s narration is written in the past tense, and it uses a third-person omniscient perspective, which encompasses the perspectives of several different characters. Point-of-view characters include Marjorie Vicks, Mary, Eddie, Walter, Janice, and others. This omniscient perspective allows the novel to present both a personal and communal view of the story’s various events. First, the narration introduces the setting of the neighborhood in a generalized fashion, and as the various storylines progress, the individual character arcs, experiences, and perspective evolve. Then, the omniscient narration not only allows the novel to develop these character perspectives on an individual personal level, but it also allows the novel to directly juxtapose those various perspectives. For example, as Eddie grows lonelier and more alienated, the reader can draw parallels with Mary’s own disappointments and instances of personal alienation.

The noel also uses perspective to emphasize...