Point of View

The play is narrated by the protagonist, Eugene Morris Jerome. Eugene is a 20-year-old Army draftee with an idealized outlook on life. Although the action takes place in the present tense, the entire play is a collection of Eugene’s memories. This allows for reflection and deeper realization of the importance of the events taking place. The audience is able to perceive the youthful ignorance of the characters, including Eugene, with the knowledge that it is based on past events.

The way that the playwright portrays the other characters is commented upon when those characters read Eugene’s description of them in his memoirs. Just as Neil Simon uses some of his own memories to shape the play, Eugene writes his memoirs based on what he feels at the moment, even if it is not entirely accurate or true to life. In this way, the...