The narrator

Outer characterization

The narrator of “Son of Satan” by Charles Bukowski is an 11-year old boy (p 39, l. 1), who despite his young age, smokes cigarettes with his friends (p. 39, l. 3). He lives in a suburban house with his mother and father. His family is probably not well-off, because they always buy him cheap shoes, which end up hurting his feet (p. 43, ll. 29-30).

Inner characterization

The narrator is the leader of his little group of friends, both of whom are one year older than he is. The narrator seems to be very aware of him being younger than the others and of it perhaps being seen as a weakness. Thus, he feels pressured to impose his will on the other two and believes that showing sympathy for Simpson is an act of weakness, which would undermine his authority: “I felt like letting him go (…) But I was the young leader. I couldn’t show any sympathy.” (p. 40, ll. 32-34). 

Therefore, he i...