Janine Marill, Comments 1 and 2

1. I disagree with Kaila’s argument about why Burton was chosen as narrator. She thinks that Burton was chosen because of his ability to analyze a situation. In a political novel, the any narrator would analyze situations that arise in the story. Politics involves a lot of analysis, so a good author would find a way to weave this into the story, regardless of who the narrator is. Additionally, characters could have provided interesting and useful analysis. Personally, I think that Libby would make an interesting narrator, since she has a unique, outspoken personality, and has obviously been around the Stantons for a long time.

2. I agree with Matthew’s thoughts about Burton’s perceptiveness. Matthew discusses Burton’s perceptiveness, and mentions that the author uses Burton to convey important information about the characters. Burton notices everything from nuances in conversation to tiny details of body language. In almost every social situation, Burton’s comments help the reader understand the relationships between the characters. Burton’s commentary gives the reader a perspective that would be impossible to achieve with another narrator.