Point of View

The book is written in the third person point of view with the narrator being the author. Le Carre is a former intelligence officer, so he is very knowledgeable about the profession and imparts this knowledge to his characters. Almost all of the characters in the book are a part of the intelligence profession.

The point of view for the most part is objective and mostly presented by Smiley. Smiley has to be objective and methodical in his research in order to find the mole. He has to try to separate his own feelings and views from the facts as he pours over documents looking for information. He has to use this information objectively to draw his own conclusions as to who is or isn't the traitor.

The use of the third person allows the reader to know of events that happen outside of the presence...