Point of View

Other than the titular story, "In a Free State," the stories in the book are told from a first-person point of view of the central character. This allows a subjective exploration of each character's psyche, particularly Santosh and the unnamed West Indian narrator of "Tell Me Who to Kill." By adopting this point of view, particularly for these stories, the reader is able to directly access the thoughts of the narrator's, as they relate their experiences and comment on how their lives have changed over the years. With the narrator of the journal entries, there is more emotional distance between the narrator and reader, as the emphasis is on observation, rather than commentary and analysis. This provides the reader with the opportunity to understand the characters and situation surrounding the narrator, rather than focusing on just his experience. This is the case with the "Prologue...