Point of View

Whale is written from a third-person omniscient point of view. The omniscient narrator guides the reader through the novel, as the narrative moves between the narrative past, present and future. In the second chapter, “Unusual Manhood”, the narrator tells the reader, “This winding story starts with an old crone who used to sell simple meals out of her home in Pyeongdae. She died long before Chunhui’s birth and neither ever knew of the other’s existence” (13). The author utilizes this moment of direct address, as well as others, in order to orient the reader as the narrative shifts between focusing on Chunhui, Geumbok, and the old crone. While their plot lines narratively converge later in the text, the narrator’s omniscient voice allows the reader to orient as the novel focuses on different characters and points in history. If Myeong-kwan had written Whale from...