Point of View

“Cyrus & the Snakes” is written in the first-person perspective of a speaker who observes the present scene unfolding before her as well as delves into past memories that inform her perspective. She transitions smoothly between interior memories and exterior happenstance, evoking the fluidity of snakes. The speaker allows her observations and memories to grow her perspective on her brother’s love for snakes as well as for the human capacity for respectful encounters with other creatures.

As the speaker offers personal stories and insights, she touches on overarching topics such as human relationships with nature. This means that her perspective functions on different levels, ranging from personal to worldly. The symbolic resonance of the speaker’s personal situations carry wider implications. For example, her own memory becomes a critique of history when she recalls Cyrus saying that he is tired of the human habit of...