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What Is The Point Of View In The Decline Of The West

Decent Essays

From great to good to bad In this essay I will analyse and interpret the short story “The Decline of the West” by Hanif Kureishi. Part of the analysis will focus on the story’s point of view and on the title “The Decline of the West.” This short story deals with the capitalistic society and it’s affection on families. The story is told by a limited third person narrator which is bound to the main character Mike. This influences the story because; the reader is only able to see the thoughts and actions from Mike’s point of view. Sometimes Mike’s actions and thoughts are relayed directly: “he switched on the garden lights and, looking out at the new deck where last summer they’d held barbecues.” And sometimes his actions and thoughts are flashbacks: …show more content…

Actions, thoughts and dialog are very elaborate. “Mike wandered across to the dishwasher, dropped in the lump of detergent, shut the door, tapped the start button and the world went black. The clock on the cooker stopped, its bright digits stuck on four round zeros; the microwave halted in mid-turn. All sound was suddenly suspended, apart from a dog barking in a nearby garden. Out of that moment’s nothing the little boy’s voice called, “Dad, Dad, Dad – do something!” It gives the reader a better perspective of the story. Not only does it give us a better perspective of the story, it also makes the reader identify themselves as Mike. The author has done this because he wants the reader to get himself to think about the situation the family is put in. This story could have been about every other family in The United States, so the reason of this point of view, is to display the situation in America and the consequences it can cause on families in a different …show more content…

Spengler believed that the “western man” is a proud but tragic and sad figure because; while the “western man” will strive for success he secretly knows that the actual goal will never be reached. This means that the “American Dream” is everybody’s final goal but anyone who is chasing and striving for that exact dream, also knows that they will never succeed and reach the “American

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