Blog Entry #6 – Narrator and Tone

From the very first line of the story we are told that the story is written from a current perspective of past events. Peekay is telling the story from the future as an adult looking back on his childhood. It is clear from reading the first few lines of the story that the main character is the narrator. The story is told from first person point-of-view which is seen by the use of ‘I’ and ‘my’ used already on the first page. By Peekay being the narrator of this story, we are able to gain an insight into his thoughts and emotions without him telling us in dialogue. Courtenay has used a certain writing technique in his book called stream of consciousness. It presents the actual thoughts going on inside the characters mind. This method lets the novelist present a more intimate view of the character than other point-of-view techniques allow. It is as if Peekay trusts the reader with the questions and thoughts running through his mind. Courtenay’s own context has affected the stream of consciousness of Peekay as Peekay’s story is very similar to that of the author. Through Peekay’s train of thought we can see Courtenay’s own views shining through.

Narration is important for the reader to be able to visualise the setting and the events. A good example of this is on page 160 when Peekay is describing the porch at his new house. ‘The doorway from the kitchen led out onto a wide back stoep which, unlike the front of the house, was level with the ground and looked out into a very large and well-tended garden. The fragrance of hundreds of rose blossoms filled the crisp dawn air…’ From reading this we are easily able to visualize the setting that Peekay was in. Even though we are told the story from a child’s point-of-view the descriptions are very detailed which can mean that we sometimes forget the Peekay is still very young. However, Courtenay has wonderfully mastered the narration to the point that the readers can automatically feel the same emotions as the character.

Through the narration of the story Courtenay has created a tone of naivety which portrays Peekay as a young, innocent boy with a limited understanding of certain aspects. One of these aspects is death. Peekay ‘wasn’t quite sure what death was.’ He ‘knew it was something that happened on the farm in the slaughter house to pigs and goats and the occasional heifer’ (Page 2). However, we must remember that at this time he was still only a five year old boy. Courtenay has created the feeling of naivety while still informing the audience of events in such a way that the readers don’t feel as if a five year-old boy is telling the story.