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The narrator of Enduring Love is the main character, Joe Rose. It is through his eyes that Jed Parry is presented, although this changes in some chapters when a letter from Parry is written to Rose. As the narrator is the main character, instead of an omnipresent narrator, Parry can be presented in a more personal manner and can be seen in different ways. There are many different aspects to Parry; he is seen as ‘nervous’, ‘emotional’, ‘intense’, ‘confused and eccentric’, ‘pathetic’, a ‘tormentor’, ‘angry’ and ‘threatening’. Due to such a variety, Parry becomes an unknown force that is unpredictable, and this contributes to the changing plot.
When Parry is first introduced in the novel, ‘his appearance was striking, even slightly threatening, but the voice gave it all away.’ Such a description presents Parry as a threat to look at, but that he is actually harmless, and lulls the reader into a false of security. Parry at this point has approached Rose who is by John Logan’s corpse; it is then that we learn something about Parry, which contributes to one of the main themes of the novel; science versus religion. ... ” At this point, Parry seems like an innocuous, religious man with intent to be friendly. As a result of the first person narrative, we have no background knowledge of Parry which we might have if the narrator was omnipresent, and so can only judge by the first impression. The original impact of Parry soon changes when Rose refuses to pray with him. ... Parry’s personality traits develop as the characters and novel develops.
Rose receives an anonymous phone call, and it suggests something very unusual about the caller. ... ” An assumption that could be made is that it was Parry as he seemed very taken with Rose when trying to get him to pray; and this is confirmed a chapter later. It also suggests that they are either having an affair, or are about to, or that Parry is about to complicate Rose’s life.
Approximate Word count = 1604
Approximate Pages = 6.4
(250 words per page double spaced)
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