Perspective

Upon the Head of the Goat is written in first person, from the perspective of Piri, a nickname for author Aranka Siegal herself. As a nine-year-old witnessing the events of war and the horrors of anti-Semitism, Piri maintains a childlike innocence and ignorance throughout the proceedings. She has little idea how much hatred much of the world has for Jews; in her world, everyone is alike, and religion or cultural heritage doesn't matter much. She also has no idea how large the German war machine is growing, and how close it is to her doorstep until it is too late.

Piri's ignorance was partially based on a lack of information coming from the war front, partially because of the adults in her life shielding her from the truth, and partially because everyone, adults included, tragically underestimated the danger the Germans posed. Perhaps demonstrative of the innate optimism of...