Point of View

The novel is told in the first-person point-of-view entirely through the eyes of Shelley. Over time, it becomes more obvious that Shelley is telling his story from the future, but the author maintains the tension by only briefly hinting at potential future events. For example, when Shelley talks about his confidence that he will see Lisbet again, the narrator says, “I didn’t know her whereabouts nor she mine, but I did have the arrogance of youth- how I miss it!- to believe I’d see her again. In that, I was right, though in so much else I was wrong” (46). Shelley’s unfettered optimism is also properly shown through this unique perspective. He does not shy away from mentioning how he always saw the brightest sides of life. In many ways, this gives the audience more reason to believe and root for him...