Point of View

The Fortress of Solitude is related from both the third-person and first-person narrative modes. Part 1 of the novel is related from the third-person omniscient perspective, from the point of view of an unnamed narrator. Part 1 follows the childhoods of both Dylan and Mingus, with their backgrounds, characters, and circumstances illustrated through exposition and dialogue. This is important because it lays the groundwork for their adulthoods beyond Part 1. Part 2 acts as a transition that bridges the gap between Dylan’s childhood and Dylan’s adulthood some twenty years later. Part 2 takes the form of a journalistic article composed by Dylan. Part 3 takes on a new narrative style – the first-person perspective – related from the point of view of Dylan himself. Because Dylan’s life now exists independently of his friendship with Mingus and because his story is entirely his own, Dylan now takes control of the telling...