Point of View

The novel is narrated in the first-person point of view by a William "Bill" Lee. The narrator is traditionally interpreted to be a fictionalized self-portrayal of the author—Lee was the maiden name of William S. Burroughs' mother. Even close associates and intimate friends of the novel have commented on the autobiographical elements of the text. The author has lived the lifestyle described in the novel and the authentic, gritty portrayal of the life of a junky is accurate beyond dispute. The narrative is delivered in terse sentences with standard paragraphing and an easily accessible chronology. Shifts in setting are obvious and the simple construction and traditionally point of view lend an immediacy and urgency to the material which is difficult to deny.

The narrator delivers the story in credible and truthful prose. Drug use is not glamorized or romanticized—quite the opposite, in...