Point of View

Most of the short stories and the novella are written from the first-person perspective. The narrator's name often changes from one tale to another, but he has the same personality. He is more intelligent than most of the people with whom he associates, but is just as rebellious as his wild friends are. This apparent alter-ego of the author not only functions as a commentator on the action, but provides elements of reflection and remorse that otherwise would be missing in these stories of thoughtlessly reckless behavior. This is essential to preventing the entire volume from sinking into absolute nihilism. Without the "I" character's awareness that he is living under hellish conditions, it would be hard to sustain interest in the other chaotic characters, simply because they are so mindless. First person also allows the author to remain non-judgmental of his characters, because the protagonist can...