The Effect of the Narrator
Although we just started reading Mrs. Dalloway, I can already notice some major differences between the writing styles of Baker and Woolf. They both write stories revolving primarily around a main character, but who they choose to narrate their respective stories brings out the personalities of the main character and helps further develop their stories in different ways. In The Mezzanine, Baker chooses to write in first person, meaning that the narrator is Howie himself who gives the reader an insight into his inner thoughts. Not only that, but Howie chooses to acknowledge the reader in the way that he makes declarations and asks questions throughout the book. As he writes about his thoughts and experiences years later, I think Baker keeps his audience in mind and writes The Mezzanine with the purpose of conversing with his reader and persuading them to view the world as he does. As the reader feels that Howie is addressing them directly, they feel obligated to think about his pe...