Perspective

The book is written in first person from a limited perspective, which is appropriate for the situation and story being related. The limitations are more than might normally be expected in a story of this type. Specifically, Gerald offers great details about some things while offering a very limited view of what he knows. For example, Gerald reveals the fact that his father is dead when someone asks about his family. The reader will likely have a great many questions, such as how long his father has been dead and how the family lives, but the limited details about the family does not stretch to these kinds of information.

The personal information offered by Gerald is colored by his humor. For example, when Captain Creech is waiting on the veranda of the house, Gerald's mother's immediate reaction is that it might be their banker from England. Mother has...