Point of View

Ibi Zoboi writes in the first-person perspective throughout Pride, with the protagonist Zuri serving as the narrator and using pronouns such as ‘I’ and ‘me.’ The book also employs a ‘stream of consciousness’ literary style which allows the reader not only to experience the narrative through Zuri’s recounting of events but also through her innermost thoughts and feelings. As such, the reader becomes fully immersed in the seventeen-year-old protagonist’s world, taking on her opinions, prejudices, and reactions.

This book is told in the present tense, heightening this sense of immersion mentioned above. For example, a typical scene in Pride can be found in Chapter 1: “I’m about to head into the kitchen when I see it. Across the street, a blacked-out SUV pulls up in front of the new mini-mansion,” (3) writes Zoboi. This sentence’s use of the first-person perspective and the present...