What Is The Point Of View Of Spunk By Zora Neale Hurston

Every story written in the third person point of view has a narrator. However, not many can claim to have a narrator observing another narrator. This is exactly what Zora Neale Hurston did in the short story “Spunk”. Hurston utilizes an objective community-focused third-person point of view to present the question of who has more spunk, the underdog Joe Kanty or the eponymous character Spunk Banks. Hurston accomplishes this by keeping the narrator as basic and neutral as possible while simultaneously focusing the narrator on the community who serve as a secondary narrator of the major events of the plot. In this way, the community adds a unique perspective to the story. By presenting Joe and Spunk's dilemma from the lens of the community Hurston

Instead of revealing how a character actually feels, which an omniscient narrator could, Hurston prefers to have the narrator remark on the character's expression and actions. Joe is the most prominent example of this. He’s described as entering the bar nervously (1). When Elijah inquires about his wife he swallows painfully (1). Later in the scene, the narrator points out that one could almost see the pain in his eyes (1-2). The narrator doesn’t directly state that Joe is feeling these emotions, they are seen through the impartial eyes of the narrator. Spunk receives the same treatment. His character is shown through his actions. This is evident when he leaves the trial, Hurston provides a list of actions he is free to do. He is free to roam, ride the dangerous saw, and return to Lena. (4). These actions and expressions serve to give the reader a sense of character without predicating attachment. Hurston uses the narrator in this fashion because she wants to limit outside influences on the reader's perspective. She wants the reader to observe and analyze the characters and events so they can decide for themselves who the protagonist of the story

Flashbacks add unreliability to the story because are tinted with the character's prejudice. This presents readers with the opportunity to question the morality of Spunk and Joe’s situation through Elijah and Walter's argument. The most important event told as a flashback is Spunk's death (5-6). This event is entirely skipped over in the story, it is told purely through Elijah’s dialogue. This creates ambiguity around whether the spirit of Joe had a hand in Spunk's death. It allows the audience leeway to interpret Spunk's death how they wish. Readers can choose whether they believe Joe’s spirit came back for vengeance, Spunk’s guilt caused him to slip up, or any other narrative that fits the meaning they pulled from the text. Another example of this is when Elijah recounts when Joe walked in on Spunk and Lena (2-3). Elijah presents the characters in a way the unbiased narrator could not. He describes Joe as a weak, nervous, pushover that in his opinion deserves to get bullied by a man like Spunk because of his