Point of View

This story is told from the point of view of a third person narrator. This point of view is ideal for this novel because there is not one character that could really serve as a first-person narrator. Pete is the only one who could have narrated about the war from the first person point of view because he is the only character who is there and in Clanton as well. Pete, however, could not have served as the narrator for the part of the novel in which he is dead. Using Pete as a first-person narrator would also have allowed the reader to form a stronger than necessary emotional connection with Pete. While the author wants to encourage sympathy for Pete, he also wants to encourage a similar sympathy for Joel, Stella, Liza, and Florry. Pete would also be a difficult character to serve as...