Narrative Point of View

"The Mysterious Stranger" is narrated in the first-person voice by August Feldner, a sixteen-year-old printer's apprentice. Thus, all of the events of the story are related solely from August's point-of-view. This limited first-person narrative point-of-view is central to the story. Toward the end, Number 44 asserts that everything in August's universe is a creation of his own imagination. Because the story is told from August's perspective, it is entirely possible that he has merely imagined these people, places, and events, or even that the entire story is a dream from which he will soon awaken.

Local Color Fiction

"Local color" fiction was a new development in American literature in the post-Civil-War era, when much of Twain's writing was published. Local color fiction is characterized by a focus on small communities existing within a specific region of the United States, and exhibiting habits, customs, and cultural practices...