Point of View

This novel is narrated by a third-person omniscient narrator. There is no focus on any particular character; so, there is little bias. The narrator records the actions, thoughts, and emotions of the main characters but does not always tell all sides of a story. In some cases the narrator allows the reader to make up his mind about their motivations. For instance, before the scene in which Tom is killed by the stallion, Tom thinks of the pain Grace is feeling: “Pain of his making. And he took it inside him and embraced it in his own” (380). The reader knows from this that Tom feels guilty for hurting Grace. He accepts responsibility for hurting her. Later, when Grace watches Tom standing in front of the stallion, opening his hands as if offering himself to it and then not dodging when it rears up to strike...