Point of View

The point of view of Inside Story is first-person, through the eyes of Martin who establishes from the start an intimate relationship with the reader. Occasionally traversing into second-person, wherein he talks to the reader-as-houseguest and provides advice for how to become a writer, Martin tells his story seeming to withhold little information. This open quality of the narrator is called into question, however, when the reader witnesses how Martin withholds information from his wife Elena about his relationship with Phoebe. Another place where the reader witnesses Martin not speaking on a topic which might cause unpleasantness is when Hitch expresses his Islamophobia. The fact that Martin never confronts Hitch on this issue suggests he has the capacity to hold back, a tendency which may be reflected in the narrative. Thus, although Martin is a reliable narrator, the reader has cause to suspect that Martin...