Book Anatomy · The Thirty-Nine Steps
The Thirty-Nine Steps: Viewpoint and narration
14 lenses on viewpoint and narration for The Thirty-Nine Steps by John Buchan. 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 1,742 times and present forms 44 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
Richard Hannay is the sole viewpoint character throughout all ten chapters. The book is entirely his first-person perspective, giving 100 per cent of the narrative.
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. Hannay reports his thoughts, fears, and observations directly. The reader experiences events as Hannay does, with limited knowledge beyond his perception.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 2, Ch 5, Ch 6
I was in the soup—that was pretty clear. (Ch 2, para 4)
the secret of playing a part was to think yourself into it. (Ch 5, para 34)
Contrary to general belief, I was not a murderer, but I had become an unholy liar, a shameless impostor, and a highwayman with a marked taste for expensive motor-cars. (Ch 5, para 71)
E5. Strict viewpoint or head hopping? AI
Strict viewpoint is maintained. Only Hannay's thoughts and observations appear. Other characters' inner lives are unknown; Hannay must deduce their motives from behaviour and appearance.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 2, Ch 3, Ch 4, Ch 5, Ch 6
E6. Is the narrator reliable? Where are the cracks? AI
Hannay is largely reliable but admits to deception and self-interest. He lies, impersonates, and steals. His judgement of others sometimes fails, as with the archaeologist's true identity.
Chapters: Ch 5, Ch 6, Ch 8
The little man had told me a pack of lies. (Ch 4, para 3)
Contrary to general belief, I was not a murderer, but I had become an unholy liar, a shameless impostor, and a highwayman with a marked taste for expensive motor-cars. (Ch 5, para 71)
E7. Frames and tales within tales. AI
Scudder's notebook functions as a tale within the tale. Its coded entries reveal a hidden conspiracy that Hannay must decode. The notebook drives the plot from chapter 2 onwards.
Chapters: Ch 2, Ch 3, Ch 7, Ch 9, Ch 10
As I poked into the tobacco my fingers touched something hard, and I drew out Scudder’s little black pocket-book.... (Ch 2, para 19)
It was pretty well filled with jottings, chiefly figures, though now and then a name was printed in. (Ch 3, para 3)
The name Julia Czechenyi flashed across my memory. (Ch 3, para 64)
E8. Narrator asides and addresses to the reader. Both
4 paragraphs where the narrator seems to speak to the reader or about the telling. (rough estimate from word lists)
Ch 3, para 28: I was in a wide semicircle of moorland, with the brown river as radius, and the high hills forming the northern circumference. There was not a sign or …
Ch 4, para 21: Slowly that thorn let me go. I subsided first on the hedge, and then very gently on a bower of nettles. As I scrambled to my feet a …
Ch 7, para 5: Very soon after daybreak I made an attempt to clean myself in a hill burn, and then approached a herd’s cottage, for I was feeling the need of …
Ch 7, para 25: Hislop was a cheery soul, who chattered all the way over the pass and down the sunny vale of Annan. I talked of Galloway markets and sheep prices, …
Hannay addresses the reader directly in asides, especially in chapter 1 with his opening about being dead and in chapter 5 where he reflects on his transformation into a liar and impostor.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 5
You see, I happen at this moment to be dead. (Ch 1, para 15)
Contrary to general belief, I was not a murderer, but I had become an unholy liar, a shameless impostor, and a highwayman with a marked taste for expensive motor-cars. (Ch 5, para 71)
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 |
|---|---|
| note | 14 |
| letter | 7 |
| newspaper | 7 |
| will | 7 |
| telegram | 2 |
| report | 1 |
Scudder's pocket notebook is the primary document, containing coded intelligence about the Black Stone conspiracy. Sir Harry's letter to the Foreign Office appears in chapter 4. No other formal documents are shown.
Chapters: Ch 2, Ch 3, Ch 4, Ch 7, Ch 9, Ch 10
As I poked into the tobacco my fingers touched something hard, and I drew out Scudder’s little black pocket-book.... (Ch 2, para 19)
It was pretty well filled with jottings, chiefly figures, though now and then a name was printed in. (Ch 3, para 3)
E10. What the narrator hides, and where the reader knows more than the lead. AI
The reader knows nothing more than Hannay. His ignorance of the Black Stone's true identity and methods mirrors the reader's. Only in chapter 6 does Hannay glimpse the bald archaeologist's role.
Chapters: Ch 6, Ch 8
In a flash the phrase of Scudder’s came back to me, when he had described the man he most dreaded in the world. (Ch 6, para 33)
E11. Free indirect style: where the narrator slips into a character's voice. AI
Free indirect style appears when Hannay reports others' speech and thought patterns. Chapter 5 shows this as he mimics the roadman's voice and manner. Chapter 7 uses it when Hannay reflects on Sir Walter's bravery.
Chapters: Ch 5, Ch 7
the secret of playing a part was to think yourself into it. (Ch 5, para 34)
I think he was the bravest man in the world, for he was always shivering with fright, and yet nothing would choke him off. (Ch 7, para 65)
E12. How thought is shown: tagged, italic or blended. Count
Thought is mostly shown with tags like thought, wondered, reflected.
| Tag | Times |
|---|---|
| thought | 38 |
| wondered | 6 |
| reflected | 4 |
| 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. Hannay remains the sole narrator throughout. All shifts in focus occur through Hannay's movement, attention, or encounters with new characters.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 2, Ch 3, Ch 4, Ch 5, Ch 6
E14. Hindsight: where an older narrator comments on events. AI
The narrator uses hindsight sparingly. The opening establishes Hannay as older, reflecting on his wartime service. The final paragraph steps back to comment on his later military commission.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 10
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