Point of View

The Leavers uses the third person for Daniel and the first-person perspective for Polly, suggesting that Polly’s narrative is more of a personal confession while Daniel’s narrative is about self-discovery. Although Daniel’s narrative gives the reader intimate insight into Daniel’s thoughts and feelings—about his town, about Carlough College, about his biological mother, about his adoptive parents—they are told to the reader through the third-person. This allows the reader to see the changes that Deming has gone through in a more dramatic form. If Deming’s story were told through the first-person, the reader would experience Deming’s transformation and feel his interior being in greater depth. By being told Deming’s story through the third-person, the reader constantly hears him referred to either as Deming or Daniel—and, thus, is reminded of the stark changes that his character has...