Point of View

Incident at Hawk's Hill is told in third person past tense with an omnipotent point of view. This rather remote perspective allows Eckert to paint a sweeping historical account of the natural history of Manitoba in the prologue. It also allows the author to include information from a wide range of viewpoints. The narrative at times dips into the minds of the female badger, Ben, William MacDonald, George Burton and Ben's mother.

This construction creates a sense of a complete natural universe outside humans that Ben is aware of. This alternate reality is not accessible to other people. Thus, Ben's "handicap" also confers a special power to understand and appreciate animals.

The omnipotent point of view creates more emotional distance than a first-person narrative, or a novel with one or two viewpoints. Due to the highly emotional nature of Eckert's content, including the killing of several...