Point of View

The point of view for most of these stories is the third person. The exceptions are the stories that, after a short introduction, are told by the Talkative Man in the first person point of view, which are, "The Snake-Song," "Engine Trouble," and "Lawley Road." The longer story, "Second Opinion," is also in the first person point of view. Most of the stories, though in the third person point of view, describe the inner thoughts of only one person, who is the subject of the short story. In "Second Opinion," a story of almost 30 pages in the first person, only the thoughts of the son are described, not of the mother or anyone else. In some stories, the thoughts and motivations of two people are written about and contrasted. In the story, "Cat Within," the reader finds out about the shopkeeper who is also the landlord...