Point of View

Jean Craighead George tells her novel “On the Far Side of the Mountain” in the first-person limited-omniscient narrative, from the point of view of her main character and principal protagonist, Sam. This is done for several reasons: the first reason is the sake of consistency, to keep the narrative mode the same as her prequel, “My Side of the Mountain”. The second reason is that much of the novel occurs in Sam’s mind: Sam is a deeply introspective character, whose reflections on events, and desire to keep much of what he feels to himself, means that he will not willingly vocalize these thoughts and feelings, but allows the reader to be the one who truly sees what Sam is thinking and feeling by giving the reader a glimpse into his mind. Because the events of the novel are largely mysterious, the limited-omniscient perspective allows...