Narrative Form

Given that the bulk of Yamamoto's story is about the letters written between Alden and Emiko, "The Eskimo Connection" is written almost as an epistle—a writing form that presents letters written to someone or written between two or more people. (According to one of the letters, Alden has paraphrased the biblical epistles of Paul). But the critical difference between a true epistle and "The Eskimo Connection" is the point of view. A true epistle allows for multiple points of view; that is, the letters of all of the characters are presented without the intrusion or interpretation of a narrator.

In contrast, in Yamamoto's story, nearly all of Alden's thoughts and words in his letters are told through Emiko's eyes. Only twice are Alden's own words actually presented somewhat in full: when Emiko includes a section of a letter Alden writes after he is transferred to...