Topic > Changing Points of View in a Visit Inside the Minds of The Goon Squad

In Jennifer Egan's A Visit From The Goon Squad, each chapter brings with it a different point of view that adds new dimensions that build on the narrative arc . To emphasize the characters' thoughts and feelings and offer different perspectives of the recurring characters, Jennifer Egan uses different points of view in "Ask Me If I Care", "Safari", and "You (Plural)". Rhea's perspective in “Ask Me If I Care” gives the audience a full view of her group as she tells the story in an adolescent way. The narrators of “Safari” offer a glimpse into the minds of the characters and their futures. Finally, in "You (Plural)", Jocelyn explains from a first-person perspective how her relationship with Lou has affected her. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Rhea's first-person perspective offers a holistic view of her group and a reflection of her adolescent state. Rhea is the odd one out in the group. As she says, “Jocelyn knows I'm waiting for Bennie. But Bennie is waiting for Alice, who is waiting for Scotty, who is waiting for Jocelyn... Jocelyn loves Scotty, but she's not in love with him... Nobody is waiting for me. In this story, I am the girl no one is waiting for” (Egan, 42). She is the lone ranger in this mix of lovebirds and her status gives the reader a full view of the gang. If the story were told here from the point of view of any other character, the scope would be limited to that person's romantic interests only. Rhea is interested in everyone's love lives, as evidenced by how often she makes Jocelyn rewrite her night of sexual debauchery (43). This focus on other people's lives and sexual activities can be attributed to his adolescence. Throughout the story, his youth drives the direction of the narrative. Channeling a typical teenager manner, the mood of the story can best be described as present. There is no obvious forethought involved in the writing, as seen in abrupt transitions, such as when the narrator takes us from "1980 is almost here" directly to "We spend every spare minute in the pit" (40-41). However, this immediacy brings its audience directly into the heart of the action. The narrator herself is close to the story; her descriptions are of raw emotions and initial thoughts, as if the audience receives the narrator's thoughts as soon as they come to mind. Another way the narrator shows her adolescence is by replacing “go” with “say”: “Jocelyn says, 'Look, Rhea. The sisters will be blonde like her.' I say 'Second?'” (40). This is how most teenagers speak: in short, assertive expressions. As the story progresses, Rhea begins the transition from adolescence to adulthood thanks to Lou, who serves as a catalyst in her personal change. Departing from the previous chapter with its first-person point of view, "Safari" offers a deeper insight into the characters' true thoughts, feelings, and future with the third-person omniscient point of view. The chapter is divided into three parts, each focusing on a different character and their perceptions of other characters. This makes for a revelatory chapter, where the reader sees each character in a new light in all three sections. For example, "Grass" focuses on Rolph and his father, briefly describing Mindy as Lou's next fling. However, “Hills” focuses on Mindy's thoughts and feelings, and audiences are given a perspective they've never seen before. Much of the passage is devoted to Mindy's sudden attraction to Albert, a man who reveals a side of Mindy that the reader would never see if the focus remainedabout Rolph and Lou. Egan also uses temporal telescoping to give the reader an idea of ​​who each character really is and where they are headed. For example, an African warrior is briefly mentioned in “Grass,” but Egan's use of the temporal telescope adds depth to even unimportant characters: “Thirty-five years from now, in 2008, this warrior will be involved in tribal violence among Kikuyu and Luo and will die in a fire. By then he will have had four wives and sixty-three grandchildren, one of them, a boy named Joe” (61). This description goes on and on, until it seems almost superfluous, but the extreme detail and foresight help characterize these people and give them meaning. Divided into three parts and focused on three different characters, the third-person omniscient point of view in “Safari” also provides insight into different characters' views of Lou, culminating in an unprecedented characterization of Lou himself. In the previous chapter, Lou is negatively portrayed as taking advantage of a young teenage girl for sexual favors. In “Grass,” Rolph gives the audience their first glimpse of Lou in a rather positive light, as a father. The narrator says that Rolph "is the only person in the world who can calm [Lou] down" (63). The audience sees the loving relationship the couple has and paints Lou in a more human and caring light. In “Hills,” Mindy offers a slightly different, more superficial perspective: “Structural incompatibility: A powerful twice-divorced male will be unable to recognize, much less sanction, the ambitions of a much younger partner. By definition, their relationship will be temporary” (65). Mindy bluntly states that her relationship with Lou is not based on true love, but is rather a fleeting relationship where one party gains sex and the other gains "luxury, adventure, and a break from her roommates" (66) . This helps further characterize Lou as a superficial player in constant need of sex. Finally, in “Sand,” the focus is on Charlie who foreshadows the family devastation that will occur years later thanks to Lou. Although she is only a teenager, Charlie may be starting to notice the signs of a dying family. As she points out, Lou hugged her all the time, “but as she gets older it happens less” (75). The audience glimpses a separation that begins between Lou and Rolph after Lou says “Women are pussies” (78). Rolph develops a simmering "anger at this man who casts everyone aside" (79), realizing how despicable his father is. Rolph is struggling with his father's misogynistic mentality and feels a parallel anger to Lou's when he learns of Mindy's attraction to Albert. It is clear that Rolph is unhappy with the current state of his family and longs for what their family was, as evidenced by his use of the word "remember" so many times. The reader is only presented with a snippet of Lou's interactions with Rolph, but it is clear that there will be problems between the two in the future, as the narrator later describes. Lou's lifestyle and mentality, and their effects on his children, are detailed through Charlie's point of view. Two chapters after Egan expresses Rhea's point of view, Jocelyn tells the story from her first-person perspective in "You (Plural)" and describes what effects it has on her. relationship with Lou had on her. The first-person point of view offers a more personal view of the narrator's emotions. Jocelyn, now in her forties, expresses the deep regret she has for her relationship with Lou as a teenager. He describes his life, how he lives with his mother, how he is recovering from addictions and how he tries to get a college degree. When Jocelyn compares her life to Rhea's, she has it all.