Question

Matching Stumpy pant for pant, Max chased his cloud-white dog through the upstairs hallway, down the wooden stairs, and into the cold open foyer. Max and Stumpy did this often, running and wrestling through the house, though Max's mother and sister, the two other occupants of the home, didn’t appreciate the volume and violence of the game. Max’s dad lived in the city and phoned on Wednesdays and Sundays but sometimes did not. Max lunged toward Stumpy, missed, barreled into the front door, and knocked the doorknob-basket off. The doorknob-basket was a small wicker vessel that Max thought was stupid but Max’s mom insisted on having on the front doorknob for good luck. The main thing the basket was good for was getting knocked off, and landing on the floor, where it was often stepped on. So Max knocked the basket off, and then Stumpy stepped on it, putting his foot through the bottom with an unfortunate wicker-ripping sound. Max was worried for a second, but then his worry was eclipsed by the sight of Stumpy trying to walk around the house with a basket stuck to his foot. Max laughed and laughed. Any reasonable person would see the humor in it. “Are you going to be a freak all day?” Claire asked, suddenly standing over Max. “You’ve only been home for ten minutes.” His sister Claire was fourteen, almost fifteen, and was no longer interested in Max, not on a consistent basis at least. Claire was a freshman now and the things they always liked to do together—including Wolf and Master, a game Max still thought worthy—were no longer so appealing to her. She had adopted a tone of perpetual dissatisfaction and annoyance with everything Max did, and with most things that existed in the world. Max didn’t answer Claire’s question; any response would be problematic. If he said “No,” then it would imply he had been acting freakish, and if he said “Yes,” it would mean that not only had he been a freak, and he was admitting it, but that he intended to continue being a freak. “You better make yourself scarce,” Claire said, repeating one of their dad’s favorite expressions. “I’m having people over.”
Source: Eggers, Dave. The Wild Things. New York: Random House, 2009. Google Books. Web. 10 May 2011.

How does the voice and the choice of narrator affect the characterization and the credibility of the excerpt?

Answer 1

The answer is...

The point of view of the narrator is third person limited through the eyes of Max, a young boy. The voice of the excerpt mirrors that of a young boy’s thoughts, which helps the reader see the world through the perspective of a boy who misses his sister and enjoys wrestling with the dog. The choice of narrator also limits what the reader understands and learns to the point of view of Max. The reader see his sister through his point-of-view, but as to what Claire actually thinks, the reader doesn’t know. As a result, the reader must examine Max’s words carefully to make sure that one is getting the full picture of the story’s events, rather than a biased portrayal of a sister with whom Max is upset.

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Answer 2

The point of view of the narrator is third person limited through the eyes of Max, a young boy. The voice of the excerpt mirrors that of a young boy’s thoughts, which helps the reader see the world through the perspective of a boy who misses his sister and enjoys wrestling with the dog. The choice of narrator also limits what the reader understands and learns to the point of view of Max. The reader see his sister through his point-of-view, but as to what Claire actually thinks, the reader doesn’t know. As a result, the reader must examine Max’s words carefully to make sure that one is getting the full picture of the story’s events, rather than a biased portrayal of a sister with whom Max is upset.

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