Point of View

The Winter Room is written from the point of view of Eldon, the younger of two boys who live with their family on a Minnesota farm in the 1930s. The narrative unfolds in the first person as Eldon describes the typical activities that occupy the family over the course of a year. The story is told in the immediate past tense, from a point in time shortly after the events of the narrative take place, as if the narrator is still a boy.

Eldon is an observant boy who pays close attention to his surroundings. He notices the small details that signal the changes in the seasons and ponders them deeply. From Eldon's point of view, there are times of the year that are transitional and are neither one season nor another.

Eldon does not understand everything he observes, and he recognizes this fact. He notices...