Point of View

Although the novel utilizes an omniscient third-person narrator, the narrative is told almost entirely from William Johnson’s perspective. As the main concern of the narrative is conveying Johnson’s adventures and the effects that those adventures have on his personality, Johnson’s perspective becomes the principal lens through which the reader experiences the story. However, the reader’s experience of the story is also informed by the secondary perspectives of other characters as portrayed through Johnson’s experience. For example, the feud between Marsh and Cope is a main component of the narrative, and the reader discovers the nature and characteristics of this feud and its participants through Johnson’s own experiences and observations.

Through the use of Johnson’s point of view, the narrative not only tracks changes in Johnson’s perspective, but it also serves to widen and deepen the reader’s...