Posted by Ed Kiser on October 18, 2005 at 15:27:36 from 205.188.116.6 user Kisered.
In Reply to: Re: Questions about Nancy posted by Andrew Craig-Bennett on October 18, 2005 at 14:24:12:
There was a bit of the story that was viewed through the eyes of Nancy, although such a view was a rare treat, and that was when she slipped out of her bedroom, went down the trellis, and ran to the Dogs' Home to talk to Dick about Timothy's message, and to make plans for the burglary, then her return trip in time to give comfort to the terrified Peggy frightened by the thunder.
If this is to be argued as not being "Through the eyes of Nancy," then it at least is a description of an activity that was about her alone.
She also gave testimony, which could be considered as being events as she saw them, when she and Peggy dashed to the houseboat soon after the burglary, where she recounted the events of the burglary night and the reactions the next day, much to the dismay of Timothy at the mention of police.
However, it is difficult to say a description is "through the eyes of so-n-so" because if that was strictly true, then the description would have referred to the principal character in the first person, but this is not the case. The first person was of course used in conversation, but not in description - with the exception of when the author referred to himself as "I" when in SA he was trying to describe the "leading lights" by his use of a COLON punctuation mark.
Perhaps it is more accurate to say that the descriptions are not really through the eyes of any particular character, but as seen by the reader as they follow the activities of certain characters as unseen observers, like a camera on a movie set. Like that camera, we have the privilege of jumping around to be with different groups to relive a particular piece of time, as for example, we see Titty alone on the island, and we see the other three Swallows up the Amazon, and making their way back sailing in the dark. The clock gets reset, so we may redo those moments but from another location, to properly view those activities that are really taking place at the same time. So are we really seeing those activities "through the eyes" of a particular character, or is this "reader's camera" following that particular character around?
But then, this is a rather normal way of viewing the story, through the eyes of the "reader's camera" as we watch the characters, and we observe their surroundings and related events. We can see only one place at a time, but time can be reset to view those same moments, but from a different location. Nothing like time travel to get different points of view.
I'm just glad, as a reader, to have be invited to come along, to listen, to observe, and especially, to learn, as indeed this is a valuable feature of All Things Ransome.
At least, that's my point of view.
Ed Kiser, South Florida