Point of View

Grace Lin tells her novel The Year of the Dog from the first-person, limited-omniscient perspective point of view of Pacy Lin, the main character. The novel is narrated by Pacy because Pacy is the main character and she wishes to talk about her experiences as the year unfolds. The first-person narrative allows readers a very personal glimpse into Pacy’s thoughts, feelings, ideas, and emotions, even when she tells no one else. This is especially important during situations like the convention. Additionally, the limited-omniscient perspective of Pacy, which means she does not know everything going on at once or what is coming in the future, adds a sense not only of realism (as readers cannot tell the future, and do not know everything going on at once), but a sense of drama as well, as readers constantly look forward to seeing what happens next.

Language and Meaning