Multiple Points Of View Of Multiple Characters In Sadie Smith's Martha, Martha

Humanity tends to make assumptions about everyone they meet, a majority of those assumptions being biased and uninformed. In literature, this is especially prominent when the author uses multiple points of view of different characters to show how they characterize each other. In the short story “Martha, Martha”, the protagonists, Martha, an immigrant, and Pam, a realtor, meet each other in Martha’s search for a place to live. They seem to be very different, and their limited knowledge of each other’s backgrounds is increasingly prominent throughout the story. Sadie Smith uses characterization and the points of view of multiple characters to exemplify how there may be more to a person than what is shown on the outside, and that surface-level

Pam gets increasingly frustrated with Martha during their conversations together, annoyed by her nosy questions and rude mannerisms. Pam’s irritation escalates to a point where she “almost [blows] up right there”, saying that “she just could not understand what kind of girl [Martha] was” (Smith 147). Pam expresses not being able to understand Martha, a result of her lack of knowledge about Martha’s past. Perhaps she would have a different perspective if she was aware of what is revealed to the reader through Martha’s point of view later in the story. When Martha excuses herself to go to the bathroom, she takes out a picture of a young man and a kid. Although it is not exactly specified who they are or what happened to them, Martha breaks down and cries. She then quickly wipes her tears away and comes “up close to the mirror and [gives] thanks to God for her secretive skin that told nobody anything” (148). It is then clear that Martha is trying to hide her struggles and mask how she’s really feeling, giving the audience insight on why she acts the way she does and shows just how little Pam knows about her to be judging her. The changes in point of view are what allow the reader to have a better understanding of the characters and see how much of a limited perspective they have on each

When Pam and Martha first meet, Pam reaches out to shake Martha’s hand and says, “Pam Roberts, we spoke on the phone. It’s so good to meet you!”, to which Martha replies with her name and “quickly [frees] herself” (136). Pam is shown to be rather outgoing and has a friendly demeanor, whereas Martha is shown to be closed off and reserved. This contrast should make the reader think that they would be polar opposites, but they really do have more in common that neither of them know about. Similar to what was given away about Martha’s past, the reader also gets a peek at what emotions Pam may be hiding while she and Martha are driving to the house. They pass Pam’s old house, and “For the first time in months Pam resisted the urge to inspect the curtains [and] the lawn” which are described as “the little things he’d changed for someone else” (145). The reader can then infer that Pam may be struggling with the aftermath of a relationship that didn’t end very well and is still hurting from it, and hiding how she feels just like Martha is, not allowing anyone to see past their external shell. With how different the two characters are shown to be for the majority of the story, it is surprising how much they have in common, as it is clear that they both are burying emotions and have pasts that are still haunting them. If Martha and