Narration and Point of View

"Neighbour Rosicky" is narrated through an omniscient narrator; that is, a speaker who is not a part of the action of the story and who has access to the thoughts and feelings of all the characters. Through this narrator the reader enters the consciousness of several different characters and sees the world from their point of view. For instance, the story begins from Dr. Burleigh's point of view, and he provides readers with some crucial information about the Rosickys through his memories of past events. The story concludes from Burleigh's point of view as well, and his point of view functions as the story's narrative frame. Some critics have suggested that Burleigh's point of view is unreliable; they believe that his assessment of the story's characters or action is at times incorrect or flawed. Other critics believe that this framing device provides an objective...