Point of View and Narration

"Wandering Willie's Tale" has an unusual point of view that combines elements of first-person and third-person narration. On the one hand, the narrator is not a participant in the events; he is not telling his own story in the manner of Huckleberry Finn or one of Edgar Allan Poe's murderers. For the most part, he functions as an objective third-person narrator, recounting the actions of all the characters without entering the minds of any of them, except to comment occasionally that the protagonist is frightened.

On the other hand, the narrator does identify himself as the grandson of the protagonist and refers to his own activities at times. For instance, he tells of recently visiting his grandfather's house and mentions his own knowledge, or lack of knowledge, of the color of the trees in Pitmarkie wood. Readers of the novel in which the story...