Perspective

The perspective of THE POWER OF SILENCE is in the first-person. It is narrated by Carlos Castaneda, the well-known writer, cult figure and anthropologist who is at this time an anthropology graduate student at UCLA. He is studying ancient Indian sorcery practices under an Indian sorcerer known as don Juan Matus. Don Juan treats Carlos as a nagual apprentice, communicating to him the abstract cores of silent knowledge, which reestablishes his link with intent. Carlos's perspective is often confused because it jumps between various stories and times, only indirectly communicating the core concepts of the book. It is mostly a recounting Carlos's experience with Don Juan, but it also jumps to narrate in the third-person at various points. Carlos recounts stories that don Juan tells him of don Juan's life experiences and his apprenticeship to the life experiences of don Juan's benefactor, the nagual Julian. He even recounts...