Point of View

The story is told from the third person limited point of view from the perspective of protagonist Gerald. In this context, “limited” refers to the fact that events, situations, and relationships are explored only as Gerald witnesses them, considers them, and understands them. The narrative focuses only on him and his experiences: everything else the reader comes to understand about the story’s circumstances, other characters, and happenings is filtered through what Gerald knows, remembers, and understands. This point of view draws readers closer to Gerald and his story, and therefore closer to the themes developed throughout that story.

The principles of the third person limited point of view, anchored as they are in the perspectives and experiences primarily of a single character, also define the book’s overall thematic points of view. Its thematically central considerations of living, dying, and living again with HIV-AIDS...