Point of View

This novel is told from the third person omniscient point of view. Lapham is the main character of this story and the action follows him most closely. Although Howells gives his readers insight into Lapham's thoughts and emotions, he also gives insights into the thoughts and emotions of other characters in the book in addition to those of Lapham.

Although the point of view is third person omniscient, there is not a lot of time spent in the book analyzing the characters' emotions or thoughts. Most information is conveyed through the characters' conversations with each other. While there are some descriptive passages and some sections that explore one particular character's feelings, these sections are minimal.

Setting

The main setting of this novel is the city of Boston which is located in the United States of America. Boston is the home city of both the Lapham and...