Point of View

The stories in Sleepovers alternate among first-, second-, and third-person point-of-view, with the majority being narrated in first-person. All of the stories are set in the Southeastern United States, and the characters within them generally reflect the ethos and culture of that part of the country, particularly in their patterns of speech and their value systems. In “The Bass,” the first-person narrator is a man named Donnie Dunlow who is struggling with depression and suicidal thoughts. Over the course of the story, the reader observes Donnie engaging in self-destructive behavioral patterns like drinking, cheating on his wife, and even visiting the same lake in which he once tried to drown himself. It is clear that these actions are manifestations of his mental instability, and at the end of the story, through comments he makes about a sheriff's recent suicide (“a man that kills himself ain't...