Structure

Eric Greitens tells his autobiography “The Heart and the Fist: The Education of a Humanitarian, The Making of a Navy SEAL” in the first-person reflective omniscient narrative. This is done for several reasons. First, Eric is telling his own story in the book, so it is only natural that he writes from a first-person perspective. Second, Eric is recounting the events several years after they have happened, so his writing takes on a tone of reflection and recall. Third, because of this, he is able to provide contextual information in the book, including things of which he was not aware of at the time of his experiences described, such as his knowledge of Al-Qaeda in 2001. Eric’s first-person narration allows him to describe the things he felt, thought, and experienced, communicated intimately to the reader in a very personal and straightforward way. This makes Eric’s experiences...