The Way You Think of Things

Authors note: This is an assigned piece for class on point of view.  It is on the book April Morning by Howard Fast.

When you start reading a book do you ever really think about the biases? In books there are many biases depending on whose point of view the book is written from.  In the book, April Morning by Howard Fast, it is written from the perspective of the son (Adam). From his perspective, he makes his dad (Moses) seem like a really bad guy. Moses and Adam get into a lot of arguments because Adam feels like he should be treated like a man but his dad doesn’t.  Adam influences the reader to believe that Moses is a horrible father, but this is not true. The point of view of a book can be deceiving and it all depends on whose perspective is being given.

One way that Adam’s point of view does influence the readers is when Adam wants to go to the committee meeting. Adam is almost sixteen but the dads of the community usually wait until their sons are adults before they let them go to the committee meetings. Adam and his father got into an argument because his father, Moses, wouldn’t let him go. Moses was being a little harsh but from Adam’s point of view it made it seem like he didn’t love him anymore. These two quotes show how Adam made it seem like he hated him but he really didn’t, “'He seems to have gotten the idea that you hate him', said Adam’s mother."(pg. 45) “'Hate him! Of all the crazy notions! Of all the idiotic ideas! There a boy, my first-born son-why, how could any man love a son anymore than I love that boy?' said Moses."(pg. 45) They argued and argued but in the end he almost seemed happy. He got to go walk with his girlfriend during the time he would’ve been at a committee meeting.

On the other hand, if this book was written from his mom’s point of view (Sarah) it would be very different. Sarah has a very different perspective than most people in this book because she is on the “outside” of almost everything like, the arguments, committee meetings, and many other things. One of the ways she stays on the outside is by staying out of the arguments. She just sits and listens to it all happen around her. There would be a lot less bias if it was written in her perspective so the reader would feel obligated to choose a side unlike in the original book where you almost have to choose Adam’s side.

As you can see the point of view makes a reader automatically think “oh well he seems so mean I’m going to choose the main characters side.” In the book, April Morning by Howard Fast there is a perfect example of this. The narrator’s (Adam’s) point of view convinces you to think that his dad is a horrible guy, but these things are just bias. All books that are written in the perspective of someone who is in the book have some sort of bias. Whether it’s about a protest or even an argument at home, the perspective of the character will always create some sort of bias.