Point of View

Point of view is the perspective from which the writer tells the story. "The Dead" is told in the third person limited point of view. Although the narrator describes the action of many of the characters and even depicts some events Gabriel does not witness, only Gabriel's thoughts are given. Joyce's writing style is also relevant when discussing point of view. Joyce was one of the first writers to practice the mimetic style. Mimetic style—a style that mimics or imitates—does not report thoughts using objective language but shows the character's thoughts by using the character's language. In "The Dead," the first sentence is an example of mimetic style: "Lily, the caretaker's daughter, was literally run off her feet." The last phrase of that sentence, "literally run off her feet," is actually mimicking what Lily would say. Another example is when Gabriel looks...