Point of View

The point of view used in The Secret History is first person, through the eyes of Richard Papen. The use of first person is the obvious choice for this work, lending the thoughts and impressions of an outsider to the school and the group of students involved in Greek studies. While the use of third person omniscient may have given the reader more detail into the inner workings of the group and their activities, the result would have been a series of confusing thoughts, words, and deeds. In essence, there are far too many intricacies in the personalities of the group in order for the third person point of view to be effective.

There are some instances in which Richard's point of view seems to be lacking, particularly in regards to the negative side of his relationship with the group. For example, Richard is told that...