The narrator of this passage from The House of Seven Gables reveals the character of Judge Pyncheon through tone, selection of detail, and his point of view. The tone of the passage is ironic; for example, the narrator states that the Judge is a person of “eminent respectability” but the narrator really feels quite the opposite about the Judge. The selection of detail reinforces this point. The narrator lists characteristics that are seemingly good and upright about Judge Pyncheon, but do not actually tell anyone anything about who he really is. For example the reader is told that the Judge is treasurer of an Orphan’s and Widows fund, it does not say a lot about him, it would be better to know he gave money to the fund. At the opening and the ending of the passage, the narrator gives the reader his own negative point of view about Judge Pyncheon’s character.
The narrator is a third person omniscient one. The narration is not a detached, descriptive one, but rather provides background describing the character of the Judge. The narrator inserts his own opinion into the passage. For example, in the sentence “the smile of broad benevolence wherewith he made it a point to gladden the whole world,” the narrator inserts what he knows the Judge’s motives are. The narrator provides the reader with his knowledge of the Judge’s arrogance. The narrator’s first and last remarks express his feelings as well. In his opening remarks, the narrator refers to the acts of the judge as “splendid rubbish”, they all seem good, but really they are garbage. He ends off the passage with a description of how he feels about
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