Point of View

The narrative stand in Sea of Poppies is third person omniscient. The use of this perspective allows Ghosh to include a great deal of historical information that his characters might not have access to. It also allows the diction of the narrative stance to be much higher than that of many of the characters. The narrator favors the perspectives of several characters in the novel, often moving in close to their points of view and offering their thoughts. These characters tend to be the most disadvantaged in the book, or the sort of characters whose voices would normally be lost to history. For example, Ghosh often moves in close to the perspective of Deeti, an Indian peasant and poppy farmer, Zachary, a half black American sailor, and Paulette an orphaned French girl. In the case of Deeti, moving in close to her perspective allows readers...