The use of point of view within the story allows for the author to control our perception. It begins with a detached third person narrative, which gives the reader a general outlay of the situation without any emotion toward the soldiers or the planter. Gradually as the story progresses we slowly see more of the planter’s character; this combined with the tale of an epic escape jars terribly with the inevitable truth that he is in fact dead. This revealing of Peyton’s history is marked by a shift from third person limited to third person omnipotent. This shift allows us to connect to the characters and to empathize with them.
The same affect comes from the break in chronological order to explain Peyton’s character and past. Digressing from the action gives the reader time to understand the severity of the situation. Especially when the situation has been laid out in a very cold but clear manner, does the past play such an important role. Particularly when the past contrasts starkly with the present; on one hand there is a successful family life of an upstanding father, the other is the execution of a partisan.
The hope brought on by the third part also raises the emotional involvement of the reader. When a false image of happiness is brought crashing down by the inevitable truth that Peyton is in fact dead, one can’t help but feel stunned by the injustice. The contrast of what should have been to the actual events causes us to remember that our world is far from the fairy tale ending we want it to be, and as such it irrefutably greaves us.
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