Point of View

At the very beginning of the novel, I thought that it was written in third person and was going to focus on the character, Robert Cohn. As I continued reading the next couple of pages, I realized that there is a first person narrator. On page 13, I was informed that the narrator is one of Cohn's two friends: his tennis friend.

"Robert Cohn had two friends, Braddocks and mysled. Braddocks was his leterary friend. I was his tennis friend" (pg 13).

It wasn't until page 25 that his full name, Jacob Barnes, was announced. Barnes does not speak directly of his own life much, yet reveals details of his life while talking and interacting with other characters about their lives. He was an American World War I veteran. So far I have come to understand that he had some sort of relationship with Lady Ashley, a.k.a. Brett, which has caused him emotional trauma. I'm not sure what happened to them as of now, but this romantic aspect sparks my interest.