Exchanging Glances | Themes

Exchanging Glances Themes

Perspective

"Exchanging Glances" is unique in its presentation of a view of World War II from a young German girl's perspective. Most accounts of the war in English and American literature narrate events from an Anglo-American point of view and characterize the German people as ruthless at worst and ignorant at best. Wolf presents the last days of the war through the eyes of a child, but even the young narrator realizes she must share some of the guilt for the atrocities committed by Nazi Germany.

What is unusual about Wolf's story, however, is that the narrator's perspective changes over time. In fact, as critic Gail Finney points out, another meaning of the story's title is "change of perspective." What the story suggests, Finney continues, is that "one's perspective on the events narrated is as important as the events themselves." Specifically, according to Finney, the narrator's perspective changes as she...
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