Point of view as a narrative tool in “The Beast in the Jungle” In Henry James' short story, “The Beast in the Jungle,” third-person narration is used as a device literary and therefore the narrator has no role in the events of the story. Considering the fact that this is a story about one man's self-centeredness, it is interesting that this form of storytelling was used; typically, to fully capture the narrator's personal interest, the first-person narrative choice would be. James' choice of third-person narration is instead an advantage compared to the theme of the story: a life not fully realized. The process by which the reader comes to understand Marcher's character objectively parallels the main character's need to seek self-discovery by looking outside of himself. This article will analyze the story's use of James's point of view by applying it to the description of the first meeting between Marcher and May, and examining how this literary device is used to help the reader understand the characters, their strengths and their flaws . the beginning of the story. The story begins with the suggestion of a seasonal setting; the party at which Marcher and May meet takes place at a manor called Weatherend, and the two characters are named after months, one of whom is cold and bleak and the other of whom is bright and lively. Although James chose to write in a third-person narrative, the person telling the story usually remains relatively detached from the characters, the third-person point of view becomes omniscient, but in "The Beast in the Jungle", there is a distance from the characters which contradicts the typical effect of this narrative device. For example, d...... middle of paper......characters as well as narrative perspectives that forgo the comforting security of a single, unified voice providing an accurate interpretation (Ghani and Akram). This leaves the reader with the ability to fill in the details of the story due to the open-ended nature through which it was written, using third-person point of view. Works Cited Bobe, Diandra. “Redefining Meaning in Henry James’s “The Beast in the Jungle.” 2003. BrynMawr.edu. Network. 7 December 2013.Ghani, Mamuna and Radia Akram. "Henry James and the Quest for Consciousness: A Psychostylistic Study of the Beast in the Jungle." June 2011. Pakistani Journal of SocialSciences. Web. 7 December 2013. James, Henry. "The Beast in the Jungle". The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Nina Baym and Robert S. Levine New York: WW Norton, 2012. Print