Point of View

Loretta Nyhan’s novel Digging In is written from the first-person point of view. The narrator and main character is named Paige Moresco. Her narration has the quality of limited-omniscience, in that the narration has access to the interiority of this character. The narrator is both seen and known, while also being biased. Paige’s narration appears in the past tense, which stays constant throughout the novel. The only exceptions are the italicized excerpts from Petra’s book, written in the present tense. The “narrator” of these excerpts can be considered Petra herself, although the genre of writing in these is meant to be sociological.

Language and Meaning

Nyhan employs figurative language in her writing, giving readers more insight into the narrative beyond the literal meaning of words. Figures of speech used in Digging In include metaphors and similes. For example, Nyhan writes: “I felt...