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  • Essay / The narrative device of narrative focus in The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, a book by Carson Mccullers

    The narrative focus in The Heart is a Lonely Hunter The Heart is a Lonely Hunter is the first book written by Carson McCullers. In his book, McCullers traces the dynamic that occurs between Singer and the four other protagonists: Biff Brennon, Jake Blount, Doctor Copeland and Mick Kelly. In explaining how these characters relate to Singer, McCullers also develops and analyzes each character's personality through the eyes of a third-person narrator. However, as Professor Nicole Seymour argues in her article "Carson McCullers: The Heart is a Lonely Hunter," the third-person narrator often becomes a first-person narrator who gives a "focused perspective" of each character (3 ). This narrative device is technically defined as “narrative focus,” which involves using or excluding information based on what the character knows through specific language that reflects their tidbits (Seymour 3). The use of narrative focus is particularly evident in the chapter in which McCullers analyzes the character of Mick. Instead of showing the move from innocence to experience through narrative focus, McCullers shows how innocence and experience coexist in the same character. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Mick Kelly is a thirteen-year-old girl who is obsessed with music and generally spends her time alone. She is the fourth character introduced in the book, after Singer, Antonapoulos and Biff, and the first in which narrative focus is evident. Indeed, as soon as she is introduced, the language used by the third narrator changes. While in the previous passage about Biff, McCullers uses the terms “morning light” to refer to the sun, in the passage about Mick she uses the word “sun” (33). Here the narrator uses the more common word to emphasize that Mick, being so young, does not have the refined vocabulary typical of an adult. Similarly, the narrator says, "she had stayed out very late," instead of simply saying very or extremely late in order to emphasize Mick's southern vocabulary. Then, the narrator uses the informal expression “messing around” to explain that she had no activity planned at that specific moment (9). This informal expression is used to emphasize the southern dialect he used in the previous sentence. In the same paragraph, the use of a mixture of informal and regional vocabulary helps the narrator shape the character's personality. Additionally, the narrator refers to the comic as "funny" and uses the word "daddy" instead of father (9). The widespread use of childish language highlights the youth and innocence that characterizes Mick's age. In these first pages where Mick is introduced, the narrator has combined most of the elements that will characterize his character throughout the story. However, Mick's innocence counterbalances his experience. Despite his young age, Mick's behavior and responsibilities are typical of an adult. She has already started smoking and drinking alcohol, and she wanders around at night when a thirteen-year-old girl is supposed to be home. The narrator explains that at night, "the girls were afraid that a man would come out from somewhere and put his teapot in it as if they were married," but Mick was not afraid at all (93). The use of the word “teapot” is crucial to understanding narrative focus. The word “teapot” is used to evoke the membermasculine sexuality, but it also recalls the famous children's song "I am a little teapot". The word “teapot” would not have been used by the narrator if he was describing the same worries experienced by one of the other characters (93). If the character being analyzed in a similar situation was Doctor Copeland, the narrator would have used a more specific and refined term such as genitals. Likewise, if the character being analyzed in a similar situation was Jake, the narrator would have simply used the colloquial term penis. The use of the word "teapot" suggests that Mick is both an innocent child and a girl with more experience than her peers. This same idea is conveyed by the narrator when he uses the phrase “as if they were married” (93). The narrator implies that Mick has the knowledge to understand what the other girls fear; nevertheless, his young age makes him perceive the sexual act as something that only concerns adult and married people. In the chapters of Mick's book, the narrator alternates the use of childish language with the use of more mature terms. For example, after Etta loses her job and the family cannot afford to pay the installments for George's toy, the narrator exclaims, "It was money, money, money all the time” (270). The repetition of the word “money” alludes to a child having a tantrum. Using such informal language breaks down the barrier between the third-person narrator and the character, so readers may have difficulty recognizing the voice they are hearing. Additionally, at the end of the book, when Mick is sitting at the New York Café, the narrator observes that "the sundae was okay, covered entirely in chocolate, nuts, and cherries." And the beer was relaxing” (307). Extrapolating this sentence to the entire paragraph, readers cannot distinguish who is speaking. Through the use of narrative focus, the narrator emphasizes that Mick is both a kid who likes ice cream sundaes and an adult who likes to drink beer. Additionally, the narrator reveals that “the beer tasted good after the ice cream” (307). This phrase can be read as a metaphor that creates a stronger description of Mick, such that the narrator compares Mick's childish and adult behaviors to sundaes and beer to emphasize that Mick's peculiarity is the synthesis of his adult characteristics and childish which make it unique. When Mick is alone with Harry, the narrator informs readers that "there was a warm smell of boy around him" (219). Being the third-person omniscient narrator, it is obvious that he knows exactly what the character is feeling or thinking; however, the language used to explain the character's thoughts to readers is more appropriate to the language used by two teenage girls sharing their secret than to the vocabulary used by an omniscient narrator. However, the use of such particular vocabulary is directly linked to the perception of the character that the narrator wishes to convey to the reader. Furthermore, the narrator does not describe the smell in more detail because the character of Mick does not know how to define it. The narrator blends so much into the character he describes that he can no longer use vocabulary different from Mick's. Another example of narrative focus is evident in the way the narrator refers to different characters. For example, in the chapters devoted to Mick, the narrator calls Mick's younger brother "Bubber" (89); however, after Bubber shoots Baby and decides that he will start using his real name, the narrator begins calling him "George" (210). The narrator acquiesces to the wishes of this young boy and.