Point of View

While the work is written in the third person, the narrator is clearly telling the tale through the eyes of David. Detailed depictions of everyone's actions and all events are infused always with David's personal response - his thoughts, his confusion, his conclusions, and, most often, his emotions. The world of the poor immigrant in an urban slum, the crude and vulgar environment in which he lives, the assault of a harsh and and dreary existence, life with an angry and abusive father, and the singular security of a mother's love, are all witnessed and molded through the eyes of this sensitive, innocent, and fear-ridden child. Of the other major characters, the reader is able to grasp thorough pictures through their words and actions. Thus, Genya is portrayed as the mediator - the wife-mother-sister figure who fosters peaceful co-existence in her household and who, even in...