Point of View

Phillip Roth writes from an omnipotent viewpoint, and allows one to see inside the thinking and feelings of his characters. Using the character of Nathan Zuckerman as the "author" of the story, he distances himself from it as the creator of the story. Nathan's close relationship with the community makes the story seem more realistic and plausible. Nathan remembers Swede Levov as his hero, a celebrity of sorts, from whom he craved even the slightest acknowledgment.

But once Nathan decides to pursue the story of Swede Levov, the reader is often in the deepest parts of Swede Levov's mind, as he remembers Merry's childhood and his early days with Dawn. Toward the end, one is still seeing through Swede's eyes, but his thinking is no longer necessarily rational, the damage to his family having taken its toll on his logic. Since the narrator, Nathan Zuckerman, is...