Point of View

The dominant point of view in the novel belongs to the man, whose worldview is shaped by nihilism and disillusionment. He describes himself as a figure defined by “futility and scorn,” (3). His narrative voice reflects a weary, detached, and self-negating stance. In contrast, the story he tells contains a moral and emotional resonance that he himself refuses to openly acknowledge. The tension between his bleak perspective and the vitality of the story he recounts forms the novel’s central irony. The reader perceives meaning where the man insists none exists. Through him, the text becomes a study in disavowed feeling: his narration exposes the persistence of empathy and significance even under the weight of despair. His voice is that of a man trying to suppress connection, but his language continually betrays him, revealing the sensitivity he denies.

The novel briefly departs from this dominant viewpoint...