Style
First-Person Narrator
Bendrix narrates in first-person for most of the story, acknowledging that he alone holds the power to tell the story and that he will control its presentation. At the beginning of the book, he explains that he is shaping what is purported to be a true story. However, interpreting situations according to his personal feelings and cynicism renders Bendrix an unreliable narrator. He allows his negative feelings to color his telling of the story at almost every turn.
As the story unfolds, then, the reader may sense that Bendrix is working out his feelings and processing his experience. This suggests that Bendrix only thinks he is controlling the plot, when in fact his emotional response to the events of the book evolves from hatred to understanding as he reflects on the details. The best example of Bendrix's progression is his assertion that the book is a record of hate, a claim he makes at the beginning of the book. His perspective changes, however, as he gets deeper into the story. For example, in book two, chapter two, he admits, "When I began to write I said this was a story of hatred, but I am not convinced. Perhaps my hatred is really as deficient as my love." Later in book four, chapter one, he writes:
When I began to write our story down, I thought I was writing a record of hate, but somehow the hate has got mislaid and all I know is that in spite of her mistakes and her unreliability, she was better than most." By the end, he is hopeless, filled with resignation rather than hate.
Once it is clear that Bendrix is less reliable than he thinks he is, the reader is able to begin drawing independent conclusions. The reader questions Bendrix's version of events in the story. Furthermore, Greene provides other narrative forms within Bendrix's first-person account. This enables the reader to better understand the themes and conflicts of the novel, of which Bendrix is only part. These techniques include flashback, letters, Sarah's diary, and dreams to help the reader see beyond Bendrix's perspective.
Sarah's diary is an important part of the narration because it forms a first-person narrative within the first-person narrative. Presumably, Bendrix is deciding which passages he will reveal to the reader, but Sarah's voice and her side of the story still come through. Her struggle, her pain, and her honesty assure the reader that she is a reliable narrator. Because it is a diary that was intended to be private, it contains truthful versions of Sarah's thoughts and experiences. Having no close friends and unable to confide in either her husband or her lover, Sarah turned to her diary to express and explore her feelings