The novel's structure consists of three parts organised around a <em>mise en abîme</em>,which means that there is a story within the story.
The first and third parts, which frame the main story, are reflections about spirituality and the relativity of truth rather than a narration of events. They enable the narrator to address his readers more directly. However, during the second and biggest part, the narrator relinquishes his hindsight and lets the character speak as the story unfolds. This is a way to make the events more impactful, more vivid, because it gives the impression that they are being told in the moment by the very person who lived them.
"There can be no real peace while one American is dying some place in the world for the rest of us",
"If we lose that war, and in so doing lose this way of freedom of ours..", this sentence reflects the idea of Reagan's speech of the need of an active government that will not stop fighting for the American values.
By referring to them as "his mother and his father" the reader can feel more close to the character. When saying "the mother and the father" one can relate less, feel distance between one and those parents. On the other hand, when saying "his mother and his father" the reader feels a little more close to the situation, feels deeper the relationship and can ever reflect him or herself in the character.
