Point of View

Nightmare Alley is told from the point of view of a third-person narrator with a focus on Stan. Consider the narrator's introduction to Stan: “Stan Carlisle stood well back from the entrance of the canvas enclosure, under the blaze of a naked light bulb, and watched the geek” (3). The narrator introduces the central character and refers to him by his name, indicating the story is told by someone other than Stan. The narrator is not involved in the story but observes from a distance. The narrator is also unbiased. He does not make any comments or give any opinions about what is happening.

This third-person narration is significant because the plot of the story is more about Stan’s manipulation and the result of his manipulation rather than it is about a focus on any one character. If Stan were to narrate the story he...