Point of View

The novel is written from the third person, though its narrator mostly gives the perspective of Captain Kidd. Captain Kidd’s life acts as the novel’s natural bookends, from its first paragraph telling the reader his date of birth (1798) to its final paragraph summarizing Captain Kidd’s request in his will to be buried with his runner’s badge. However, there are exceptions, as the narrator occasionally knows the thoughts and feelings of other characters. One example of this is when the narrator remarks at the end of Chapter Two on the “peculiar knowledge about human beings” (18) that Almay and the Caddos have gained. Since Captain Kidd has not yet interacted with them, it is a clear example of the narrator’s occasional omniscience.

One of the most striking breaks from the Captain’s point of view occur when the novel occasionally switches into...