As For Me and My House, by Sinclair Ross

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Recommended: Role of narrator

The novel, As For Me and My House, by Sinclair Ross is narrated using a first person narrator. The narrator of the novel is Mrs. Bentley, and she narrates the novel through series of journal entries. Writing in first person narration has its advantages and disadvantages. This paper will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using a first person narrator specifically for the novel As For Me and My House.

Because the novel is written in the first person, it gives a more personal feeling and gives it a sense of directness that is missing in other narrative styles. Also, first person narrators are often able to give detailed descriptions and make the reader feel more involved. Because Mrs. Bentley is telling the story through her journal entries, the reader gets an inside look of Mrs. Bentley's feelings that the characters in the novel are not able to experience. Her journal entries also allow the reader to experience Mrs. Bentley's reflections and thoughts on various subjects such as Judith's baby and whether or not her husband, Philip, is having an affair with Judith.

There are several problems with having a first person narrator. The narrator must know everything that is happening throughout the story. If As For Me and My House were to be told in the third person, or from the points of view of a number of different characters, it would be a completely different novel.

Some other drawbacks to having a first person narrator are that often times the narrator brings his or her biases into the story and will often leave out certain details. Stories written in first person narration are often too limited unless the author is clever. First person narration also limits the author to specific places and times that the character is present. In order to have an omniscient narrator, the novel needs to be written in third person narration.

Having Mrs. Bentley as a narrator for As For Me and My House is not that good of a choice. This novel would have been better off being written using a third person narrator because Mrs. Bentley is too biased as a narrator. She does not tell the reader enough information for the reader to figure anything out other than what she wants the reader to know.

Another disadvantage to using a first person narrator is the author's ability to use a first person narrator correctly and effectively.

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