Point of View

Straight Man is written in the first person. The narrator is William Henry 'Hank' Devereaux Jr. As the novel is the story of one important weekend in the life of Hank Devereaux, the point of view if important, as the reader can better understand exactly what is happening as it takes place, as well as the feelings of Devereaux.

The story is told in a straight forward manner, as the action takes place with quite a bit of dialogue throughout. There are a few passages of flashback, which provide some back story of the main character, but for the most part, the novel is written as it happens over a period of approximately three or four days.

Setting

The novel is set in Railton Pennsylvania, and takes place for the most part on the Railton campus, where Hank is the temporary chair of the English department...