z Again, unlike the opening of /RUG-LP, this opening tells us nothing
of the man’s physical appearance and very little about his psychology.
In /RUG-LP, it’s the hint of complexity in the character that invites us
to keep reading, but in this case, it’s the character’s energy and our
curiosity to discover why he’s so engaged with the natural world that
propel us forward.
Direct Address to the Reader
z Another way to introduce a main character is to have him or her directly
address the reader. Three of the books that are often cited as the great
American novel open this way: 0RE\'LFN, 7KHUHDWDWVE\, and 7KH
$GYHQWXUHVRI+XFNOHEHUU\)LQQ.
z A modern example of a novel whose narrator addresses the reader on
the opening page is Kate Christensen’s 7KH(SLFXUH¶V/DPHQW:
October 9, 2001—All the lonely people indeed. Whoever they
are, I’ve never been one of them. The lack of other people is a
balm. It’s the absence of strain and stress. I understand monks
and hermits, anyone who takes a vow of silence or lives in a far-
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this way for the rest of my life, whatever time is left to me. (p. 3)z In the subsequent paragraphs, we get some more information about this
narrator, Hugo Whittier, but mainly what this opening does is draw the
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the character is literate and erudite; that he not only prefers his own
company, but he harbors an active hostility to other people; and that he’s
something of a fatalist, who doesn’t expect to live much longer.
z With these types of introductions, the paragraphs that follow the opening
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situation, but what draws us in is the fact that we’re hearing individual
people tell us their stories in a way that only they can. Even if we don’t
know what they look like or see them in action right away, we know
we’re hearing from a unique individual.