First-Person Confession
...se. This is evident by the change in tense from that statement in comparison to the rest of the story, which is told in past tense. Besides the use of tense in the first paragraph, the vocabulary is not that of a typical child, which also suggests the narrator is an adult. The phrases, “…girls are supposed to be fastidious…” (681) and “She became the raging malicious devil she really was.” (683) are both examples of the use of a higher vocabulary. Also, when the phrase “God, the hypocrisy of women” is used by the narrator, he seems to be suggesting that he has had further experiences with women leading him to this insight. The point-of-view the author chose was a very effective tool. It allows the reader to observe Jackie’s life through his own eyes. It shows how he sees his family, which can almost be seen as game of chess, with his mother on his side, and his father on the side of his sister. With the introduction of his grandmother to the family, it seems his opponent, his sister, has gained the upper hand. Also, through the use of first-person point-of-view, we get to feel his fright as he enters confession for that first time, and his embarrassment at his first attempted confession with the priest. As for the other characters in the story, the point-of-view lets the reader see the various characters from a young boy’s perspective. Jackie feels his sister is conniving, and has “sucked up to [his grandmother] for the penny she got every Friday…” (681). As for Ms. Ryan we see her as a doomsayer, as the reader ...