Narrator and point of view

The short story “The Three-Day Blow” by Ernest Hemingway is a third-person narration which uses the point of view of Nick Adams, one of the characters.

The narrator’s presence is felt when he inserts comments about the way the characters speak: “ ‘He’s missed a lot,’ Nick said sadly.” (l. 157); “ ‘What’s the difference?’ Bill asked judicially.” (l. 272)

The narration is limited to Nick’s point of view. We only know what Nick thinks, and very little about Bill’s thoughts or his perspective, except what Nick infers from his behavior: “Also he wished to show he could hold his liquor and be practical. Even if his father had never touched a drop Bill was not going to get him drunk before he himself was drunk.” (ll. 164-166); “‘Bring one of the big beech chunks,’ Bill said. He was also being consciously practical.” (l. 167)

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