Point of View

The point of view of The Lock Artist is first person, limited and reliable. Mike, the narrator, knows only his own thought and feelings, as well as what other characters tell him. Mike appears to be honest and is never proven otherwise, and he is willing to admit his own faults throughout the novel. The novel's point of view is important because it shows the reader Mike's thoughts and reasons for committing his crimes in addition to describing his traumatic childhood, and all of this makes Mike into a more sympathetic character since it is obvious that he got trapped into a life of crime as a result of the trauma he experienced at the age of 8.

The distribution of exposition and dialogue is fairly equitable in this novel which is somewhat ironic since Mike cannot speak. Mike addresses his story to the reader as though...