Point of View

Riddley Walker is written in first-person point of view in the past tense. The perspective of the novel comes from the protagonist, Riddley. At the onset of the narrative, Riddley describes his twelfth birthday, his “naming day,” when he became a man. The character of Riddley indeed thinks much like an adult as opposed to a child in the story, and it is easy for the reader to forget that this perspective comes from a twelve-year-old.

Riddley expresses his internal thoughts in the narrative and surmises the thoughts and intentions of others, but the perspective is limited and not omniscient. This perspective gives the reader more suspense, as events as perceived by Riddley can be more clearly realized by the reader who understands the course of the history of Inland more than the main character.

Setting

Riddley Walker is set place in Inland, a post-apocalyptic...