Point of View

The story is presented in first person and is limited to Junior's perspective. The limited perspective means the reader has no idea what's going on in the minds of others until Junior discovers those facts for himself. This is seen, for example, when Rowdy reacts violently at Junior's decision to leave the Reservation to attend school at Reardan. Rowdy is furious and it's only much later in the book that he reveals he'd always known that Junior would be the one to leave. Another example of the limitation is seen in Junior's understanding of his sister, Mary. Junior doesn't realize that Mary has a dream of writing romance novels until his teacher reveals this. The reader also doesn't get this information until Junior does. Because the story is presented as a diary, the limited perspective is appropriate. The fact that the story is so greatly limited...