Alias Grace: Point of View, Characterization and Title
Alias Grace: Point of View, Characterization and Title
Rhys Sutter English Language Arts 30 AP Miss Strueby March 26, 2012 Alias Grace, written by Margaret Atwood, is a well-written novel filled with many components that enhance the theme and the story as a whole. Atwood reveals the story of Grace Marks to the reader in a variety of ways, including various points of view. This allows the author to reveal the character of Grace Marks in many different layers based on the accounts of others and Grace herself. Atwood also characterizes Grace Marks as an untrustworthy narrator, leaving the reader to question whether or not they trust her perspective of the events that occurred. The title, Alias Grace, also adds meaning to the story because it makes the reader question, who is the real Grace Marks? Margaret Atwood uses the components – point of view, characterization and the title – as a method to help the reader better understand and appreciate the stories theme of searching for the truth. The effectiveness of point of view Throughout the novel, Margaret Atwood effectively uses different points of view to give the reader a better understanding of the main character, Grace Marks. The first-person point of view is used by Atwood in Grace’s interior monologues. Atwood writes, “. . . it struck me at once how very solitary I was, as I had no friends here except Nancy, if she could be called a friend . . .I did not know where my family was, which was the same as having none” (Atwood 301-2). The author’s use of first-person point of view in the above quote gives the reader a sense of the inner struggles Grace Mark’s endures as a woman in the Victorian time period. Atwood also uses this perspective to show Grace is also going through a journey to find the truth about
Rhys Sutter English Language Arts 30 AP Miss Strueby March 26, 2012 Alias Grace, written by Margaret Atwood, is a well-written novel filled with many components that enhance the theme and the story as a whole. Atwood reveals the story of Grace Marks to the reader in a variety of ways, including various points of view. This allows the author to reveal the character of Grace Marks in many different layers based on the accounts of others and Grace herself. Atwood also characterizes Grace Marks as an untrustworthy narrator, leaving the reader to question whether or not they trust her perspective of the events that occurred. The title, Alias Grace, also adds meaning to the story because it makes the reader question, who is the real Grace Marks? Margaret Atwood uses the components – point of view, characterization and the title – as a method to help the reader better understand and appreciate the stories theme of searching for the truth. The effectiveness of point of view Throughout the novel, Margaret Atwood effectively uses different points of view to give the reader a better understanding of the main character, Grace Marks. The first-person point of view is used by Atwood in Grace’s interior monologues. Atwood writes, “. . . it struck me at once how very solitary I was, as I had no friends here except Nancy, if she could be called a friend . . .I did not know where my family was, which was the same as having none” (Atwood 301-2). The author’s use of first-person point of view in the above quote gives the reader a sense of the inner struggles Grace Mark’s endures as a woman in the Victorian time period. Atwood also uses this perspective to show Grace is also going through a journey to find the truth about