Point of View

The novel is told by a narrator, in the first person point of view. The narrator is a woman in the foreword, but she is remembering her childhood, and her voice shifts to that of a child as the chapters are laid out. It is easy to imagine the innocence of this narrator when the story is told in a child’s voice. The author shows the reader that the narrator (Birdie) is often confused about all the grown-up events and ideas swirling around her. The reader is permitted to listen in on Birdie’s thoughts as she tries to make sense of ideas unfamiliar to her. By allowing the entire story to be told from Birdie’s point of view, the author reinforces the idea that many events occurring around children that do not directly involve them nevertheless have an effect on shaping their...