Point of View

The collective “we” narrator allows the author to tell the story from the perspective of the Beartown community. The “we” in “Us Against You” provides entrance to the town at large, as well as movement into each individual townsperson’s life and past. The effect of this narrative technique is both isolating and compelling at once. While the reader does not initially feel a part of the community, the collective narration fortifies the title and underpinning themes of Beartown against the rest. The reader understands herself initially as an outsider.

As the novel fractures into more narrowed perspectives (the “we” narrator able to access each character’s interiority through free indirect discourse) the point of view envelopes the reader. No longer on the outskirts of the town, the reader becomes a part of the Beartown community. The author’s choice to implicate, include, and accept...