Point of View in Community Life

Point of view is essential in any work of literature. It is, as defined by the Britannica Online Encyclopedia, "the vantage point from which a story is presented." In Lorrie Moore's Community Life the story is present to the reader in third person point of view by a narrator who has limited omnipotent powers. The narrator, by those terms, knows the thoughts, feelings, and inner psychological workings of one or very few characters. One easy way point of view in Community Life is found is by the usage of third person pronouns and knowing more in depth about Olena and her life than other characters.

Point of view, however, is different than focalization. Focalization happens in third person narrators, but is not necessarily the narrator. Focalization can come from a character and their consciousness about an observing factor. In Community Life Olena is often the character we focus on and who we know about most. From the beginning of the text we learn of Olena's childhood, her parents death, and her job at a library. When we meet Nick, we know he looks forty years old from what Olena thought, but not the narrator.

The point of view that we're given modifies first when Nick is telling Olena about the time in his life when he bombed a warehouse in the 1960's. This is the first time we know more than what Nick is simply saying or doing from an observers view. The only other time this

happens is after Nick moves in with Olena and we learn about little compliments he tries to give her because he wants to improve her self-esteem.

Having Olena has the center character not only compliments the diction of Community Life because the word choice is consistent, but also gives a mood to the story that changes with the emotions she is experiencing throughout the work. We seem to feel the struggle of love for words and distrust in them. We come to know Olena's voice and notice when it changes, such as when Nick tells her he cheated on her and she not only becomes afraid of the community surrounding, but a "rapist" to beautiful women she sees driving to work in her car (Morrie, 70).

Without being in Olena's mind for most of the work the reader may not understand that reaction. Much like when the bat was flying around in her apartment and she was in the middle of hysterics Olena asked Nick if he wanted to play tennis sometime. Even panicked she wants intimacy with someone. Later we see she is even uncomfortable having intimacy with herself since her father caught her masturbating and she still is ashamed of that moment.

Although the point of view mainly comes from Olena's perspective and may give the reader a skewed view on what is going on, it is because that is how only Olena sees it. We don't get the thoughts of others and what they think of their actions. This effect from the point of view Moore uses gives us a more in depth