Book Anatomy · The Amateur Cracksman
The Amateur Cracksman: Viewpoint and narration
14 lenses on viewpoint and narration for The Amateur Cracksman by E.W. Hornung. Count lenses are exact for our text. AI lenses are our reading and cite only quotes that passed a word for word check.
Jump to: E1 E2 E3 E4 E5 E6 E7 E8 E9 E10 E11 E12 E13 E14
E1. Person and tense: first or third, past or present. Count
First person, past tense. In the narration, past forms come 1,539 times and present forms 52 times.
E2. Whose viewpoint is each chapter? Both
first person. See the full lens on the book page.
E3. Share of the book told by each viewpoint character. Both
Bunny narrates the entire book in first person. Raffles never has a viewpoint chapter, though he tells his own story in chapters 8 and 9 as a tale within the tale. Bunny's perspective is exclusive throughout.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 2, Ch 3, Ch 4, Ch 5, Ch 6
E4. Narrative distance: close inside a head, or far off? AI
Narrative distance is close and intimate. Bunny reports his own thoughts, fears, and desires directly. The prose moves between his immediate sensations and his reflections on events, staying inside his head throughout.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 2, Ch 3, Ch 5, Ch 10, Ch 14
It was the look that came instead which held my hand. Neither fear nor horror were in it; only wonder, admiration, and such a measure of pleased expectancy (Ch 1, para 42)
No, not even at that," I declared; "name your crime, and I'm your man. (Ch 1, para 66)
E5. Strict viewpoint or head hopping? AI
Viewpoint is strict to Bunny. The reader only knows what Bunny knows or learns. Raffles's inner thoughts are hidden until he chooses to reveal them. No head hopping occurs.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 2, Ch 3, Ch 4, Ch 5, Ch 6
E6. Is the narrator reliable? Where are the cracks? AI
Bunny is largely reliable but self-deceiving about his own morality. He rationalises his crimes and downplays his guilt. The reader sees his moral decline more clearly than he does. His jealousy of Miss Werner in chapter 16 clouds his judgment.
Chapters: Ch 3, Ch 13, Ch 16
Raffles was a burglar. I had helped him to commit one burglary, therefore I was a burglar, too. (Ch 3, para 5)
Of all our adventures this was the first in which I had played a commanding part; and, of them all, this was infinitely the least discreditable. (Ch 13, para 7)
E7. Frames and tales within tales. AI
Chapters 8 and 9 contain a frame tale: Raffles narrates his first crime in Australia to Bunny. This story-within-the-story reveals Raffles's origins as a criminal and explains his methods and philosophy.
Chapters: Ch 8, Ch 9
You're A. J. Raffles,' he said. (Ch 8, para 13)
W. F. Raffles! We had mistaken EACH OTHER for W. F. Raffles (Ch 8, para 40)
E8. Narrator asides and addresses to the reader. Both
6 paragraphs where the narrator seems to speak to the reader or about the telling. (rough estimate from word lists)
Ch 3, para 28: London was just then talking of one whose name is already a name and nothing more. Reuben Rosenthall had made his millions on the diamond fields of South …
Ch 4, para 38: Let me make our position perfectly clear. We were over the wall, at the side of the house, but a few feet from the dining-room windows. On our …
Ch 7, para 9: Let me tell of the thing as I saw and heard it. My room opened upon the central gallery, and was not even on the same floor as …
Ch 13, para 40: I made excuses, for his tone foretold the kind of amusement, and it was a kind against which I had successfully set my face for months. I have …
Ch 16, para 23: I do not ask to set foot aboard a finer steamship than the Uhlan of the Norddeutscher Lloyd, to meet a kindlier gentleman than her commander, or better …
Ch 17, para 2: He would neither talk to me, nor would he let me go.
Bunny addresses the reader directly in chapter 13 with 'Of all our adventures this was the first in which I had played a commanding part.' He also reflects on events with hindsight, commenting on his own foolishness and moral compromise.
Chapters: Ch 13, Ch 14, Ch 15
Of all our adventures this was the first in which I had played a commanding part; and, of them all, this was infinitely the least discreditable. (Ch 13, para 7)
E9. Documents used: letters, diaries, reports, by type and sender. Both
How often each kind of document is named in the narration. (rough estimate from word lists)
| Document | Mentions |
|---|---|
| will | 11 |
| telegram | 6 |
| letter | 3 |
| report | 2 |
| note | 1 |
| newspaper | 1 |
No letters, diaries, or formal documents are used. Information comes through dialogue and Bunny's narration. Chapter 15 mentions newspaper reports of Raffles's apparent death, but these are not quoted.
E10. What the narrator hides, and where the reader knows more than the lead. AI
Bunny hides his own complicity and moral weakness from himself. The reader sees his rationalisation of crime more clearly than he does. Raffles hides his feelings for Miss Werner until chapter 16. Bunny does not know Raffles's full plans until revealed.
Chapters: Ch 3, Ch 13, Ch 16
Raffles was a burglar. I had helped him to commit one burglary, therefore I was a burglar, too. (Ch 3, para 5)
I'm ashamed to tell you, Bunny, that I went there on purpose! (Ch 16, para 2)
E11. Free indirect style: where the narrator slips into a character's voice. AI
Free indirect style appears when Bunny reports Raffles's speech and thoughts without quotation marks. Chapter 4 shows this when Bunny describes Raffles's surveillance methods. Chapter 7 uses it when Raffles explains his theft of the necklace.
Chapters: Ch 4, Ch 7, Ch 12
E12. How thought is shown: tagged, italic or blended. Count
Thought is mostly shown with tags like thought, wondered, reflected.
| Tag | Times |
|---|---|
| thought | 26 |
| wondered | 3 |
| reflected | 0 |
| said to himself | 0 |
| said to herself | 0 |
| asked himself | 0 |
| asked herself | 0 |
| told himself | 0 |
E13. What triggers each change of viewpoint? AI
Viewpoint never changes. Bunny is the sole narrator throughout. Raffles's story in chapters 8 and 9 is told by Raffles to Bunny, but Bunny remains the framing narrator reporting what he hears.
E14. Hindsight: where an older narrator comments on events. AI
Bunny frequently comments with hindsight, especially in chapters 3, 13, and 15. He reflects on his younger self's naivety and moral decline. Chapter 17's ending suggests he is writing from prison, looking back on events.
Chapters: Ch 3, Ch 13, Ch 14, Ch 15, Ch 17
Of all our adventures this was the first in which I had played a commanding part; and, of them all, this was infinitely the least discreditable. (Ch 13, para 7)
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