Until Gwen In “Until Gwen”, the author writes in the second person to punctuate the narrator's lack of self-identity. Unaware of his true name or birth place, narrator Bobby struggles with his identity due to being manipulated by his felonious father for years. Lehane strategically uses the second person point of view, allowing for deeper understanding into his character’s emotions. Throughout, “Until Gwen” Bobby reflects on how little he knows about himself. Unaware of his birthplace, his mother’s facial features or if he was just, “some whores kid...”(18), the narrator is kept in the dark by his father. This troubles Bobby who, “sat up occasionally”(9) trying to picture his mother, curious why “there were no pictures of her.”(9) Lehane’s choice of second person point of view allows for such memories to be displayed, which are crucial to Bobby’s character development since they display his desperation to know who he came from. …show more content…
Gwen death symbolizes Bobby’s own loss of identity, for who he is, he feels, “...is buried with her.”(19) Being told from Bobby’s point of view is important, third or first person would not delve as deeply into the narrator's emotions and Gwen’s presence would not have resonated as