Point of View

Kent Haruf tells his novel Eventide from the third-person, omniscient, narrative mode. The unidentified narrator is given a bird’s eye view of events, knowing everything going on at all times. Haruf constructs a sympathetic narrator whose omniscience allows readers a deeper glimpse into the lives of rural and working class people. Haruf intends to defend the American rural and working class.

The omniscient narrative mode allows readers to know what is going on not only with each of his characters, both before and after their appearances as well. This creates a kind of complexity that gives depth to the story and helps Haruf to make his arguments thematically. For example, readers are treated to a conversation between the cashier and a man in line after Luther and Betty have left the grocery store. During the conversation, the cashier defends the honor of the Wallaces...