discussions and reply

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Discussion 1 ( 100 words)

Which point of view does James Salter establish in “Last Night”? Why do you think Salter chose that point of view? How was it effective or not effective? What would be the impact on the story if it had been written in a different point of view? Explain why you think so.

Consider how Salter’s chosen point of view contributes to the conflict, and eventual climax, in the story. What do you consider the first example of conflict in the story? What is the story’s climax? Why might some find these questions debatable?

How does point of view tie into the conclusion of the story? Though the story concludes without a defined resolution for the characters involved, it nevertheless, comes to an end. How does Salter make that work, and how does that tie to point of view?

Link to story: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2002/11/18/last-night

Reply 1 (50 words) Rod

James Salter's "Last Night" was written in the third-person omniscient point of view. I believe the author chose this point of view because he wanted the reader to have a glimpse into all the characters in the short story. I don't believe the story would have flowed as well if it were in the first-person or second-person point of view.  If it were in the first-person view, I wonder which character the author would choose to tell the story.  From the second-person point of view, you would be the character in the story and it might not be as impactful unless you were actually going through a similar situation.

The chosen point of view makes all the conflict more powerful. The first conflict I noticed was  Marit's struggle with what would happen at the end of the night. The author expresses multiple times how Marit was feeling uneasy and unsure about it. I believe the climax was when Walter injected Marit with the liquid and then went to sleep with Susanna.  It was an interesting way to find out he was having an affair.

Salters ending only worked because of the third-person omniscient point of view.  We are able to see everyone's reactions when Marit, who should have been dead, walks out to find Walter and Susanna. We find out that the affair eventually comes to an end due to them getting caught.

Reply 2 ( 50 words) Rich

"Last Night" by James Salter appears to be written in from a third-person omniscient point of view.  Throughout the story we are told about all of the characters in the third person "he and she," but we are also given access to everyone's personal thoughts.  This included Merit's thoughts about her neighborhood when Salter wrote "She felt sadness but also a kind of confusion" (Salter, Nov 2002).  It also included Walter's thoughts after he thought Susanna had left and Salter wrote "He had never felt more completely alone" (Salter, Nov 2002).  Without this point of view, it would have been difficult or even impossible for readers to fully understand how each of the characters were feeling, using only dialogue.      

The first real conflict appears to be when Walter is struggling with himself about how to hold the syringe, and how to carry it upstairs.  Without the omniscient point of view we might not have known how much Walter did not want to carryout the dead, but instead Salter was simply able to write "He tried to think of a way not to go on" (Salter, Nov 2002).  The climax of the story seemed to be the discovery that Susanna and Walter were having an ongoing affair.  There were hints about this fact in Merit's thoughts, and the odd arrangement for the evening.  When it was fully revealed in the text, there was an extra layer of intrigue added, and the earlier actions in the story took on new meaning.  

Salter's choice of ending to the story was possible because of the omniscient point of view.  Since we were able to understand that Merit had accepted her tragic fate in the end, and come to a relative peace with it.  The ending became almost an irony that Walter would just have to accept, the much less tragic fate, that he could not continue his illicit romance with Susanna.

Work Cited

Salter, James, "Last Night", The New Yorker, (November 2002), https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2002/11/18/last-night