Point of View

The short story is written from Elliott Spencer's first person point of view. Because Elliott has been taken in by the Program, "blanked-out mentally, then reprogrammed...for propaganda purposes," at the start of the story he has no definite identity, nor does he have the capacity to speak or think of his own free will (16). Elliott's narrative is therefore driven by syncopated and halting snatches of description or thought. Everything he perceives, encounters, or feels is dictated by the Program's agendas and missions. Elliott is therefore an unexpected first person narrator. The reader must rely upon his narration to navigate the story, but feels as disoriented by the dystopian narrative realm as Elliott. His lack of agency initially limits and immobilizes the narrative's progress forward. Elliott does not know who he is, why he is where he is, nor if he wants to be who...