Book study of "The Other side of the fence" by Paul Mauchline

Essay by BassManCollege, UndergraduateA+, January 1996

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The point of view is "Eye of God,' but sometimes it speaks out the main character's thoughts as if it were him narrating it.

Passage:

"Richard looked up. A boy dressed in baggy jeans and a thick, army-green sweater was pushing his way towards them. He was about the same age as Richard, several inches shorter but a good deal stockier. He jerked his head at Bonny.

'OK?'

Bonny hesitated. She looked back at Richard.

'So are you coming or not?'

'Oh, I suppose... if you really insist --'

'Suit yourself' said Vic.

'No, that's all right.' Bonny slipped her hand into Richard's. 'We're coming.'

Altered to 1st person - Richard's view:

I looked up to see Vic, the boy who owned the squat. He was dressed in baggy jeans and an army-green sweater, and was pushing towards us. He looked to be about my age, but a few inches shorter than me.

He jerked his head at Bonny, and said OK. Bonny seemed to hesitate, and looked at me, and asked if I was coming or not. I thought about the ups and downs, weighed up the pros and cons, but decided to, so I replied that I would if she insists. And the Vic said cockily 'Suit yourself.' Bonny replied and said 'No, that's all right, we're coming, and slipped her hand into mine.

This would make the book worse, because you wouldn't see everything from reading the book as you need to sometimes to make any sense. For instance at the start, Richard is contemplating picking up Bonny when she is trying to hitch a lift. The narrator switches from person to person, explaining what they are thinking at each point of time.

STYLE:-

"... I can always hitch another lift', Bonny said.

Richard frowned.

'You oughtn't...