Point of View

Many of the first chapters of the novel are in the first person point of view of the youngest Mulvaney, Judd. The first few chapters are an introduction to the family and the small town where they live; including, the farm the family lived on since 1955. All of these chapters are seen through Judd's first person point of view. However, as the novel moves along and discusses events Judd is not privy to, the narration switches to the third person point of view of whoever the main character of the chapter happens to be. Many of the chapters are seen through the eyes of Michael Mulvaney Sr., Corrine, Patrick or Marianne.

By changing the point of view in this manner, Joyce Carol Oates tells a story that Judd alone could not have told. There are times in which emotions and events are expressed that Judd, as...