Point of View

The Dive from Clausen’s Pier is told through a first-person narrative. Carrie Bell, the narrator, appears to be a reliable and self-aware individual. She is a twenty-three year old, college-educated woman who has really never left home. She is engaged to her high school sweetheart, but she is having doubts about the relationship.

After Mike’s accident, Carrie leave Madison, Wisconsin, for New York City. Her mood shifts from guilt to possibility. She begins a new relationship with Kilroy, who helps her see the world differently. She remains free of responsibility, with her friends and lover providing for her during her stay in New York.

Her perspective shifts back to guilt when thinking of Mike and Jamie and all she left behind. When she returns, she sees how people are disappointed in her.

The intensity of her guilt wavers based on how she is...