A Time to Keep: Style and Technique: First Person Narrative

Overview of First-Person Narrative:

First-person narrative is a literary technique, where the story is narrated by one character at a time, implying the character is directly involved in the story they narrate.
Brown uses this style effectively in “A Time to Keep”, offering subjective and personal viewpoints from various characters, thereby creating an intimate and individual perspective of the story.

Advantages of First-Person Narrative:

It allows the reader to have an inside look at the thoughts, feelings, and beliefs of the characters, facilitating a close rapport between the reader and the narrator.
It makes the narrative seem more subjective and personal, thus making the story more relatable to the reader.
It helps in creating suspense and intrigue, as the reader only knows what the narrating character knows.

Features of Brown’s Usage:

Mackay Brown employs exclusive language, such as ‘us’ and ‘we’, drawing the reader into the narrative and eliciting a feeling of shared experience.
He uses this style to convey the culture and traditions of the Orkney islands vividly, capturing the unique rhythms and patterns of its people’s lives.
He effectively uses descriptive language to paint vivid images of locations and objects, bringing them to life in the reader’s mind.

Quotes and Analysis:

“The air was thick with stories” - Here, the narrator’s first-person perspective helps to forge an emotional connection with the reader, drawing them into the world of the inhabitants.
“Winter was throttling the life out of us.” - An apt example of how Brown uses first-person narrative to convey the hardship faced by the inhabitants.

Remember to consider the effects of the first-person narrative on your reading experience and the unfolding of the narrative. Pay special attention to how it allows Brown to paint a comprehensive and intimate portrait of the Orkney island life.