The Difference Between 3 and 2

From the beginning of the book, Self-Help by Lorrie Moore clearly displayed a very unique and interesting writing style. Many of Moore’s stories in this collection were written in second person, which for me was an unusual point of view to write a narrative from. As I was reading these stories, I noticed that sometimes I would read a story and not even realize that it was written in second person. One example of this was when I read the short story “Amahl and the Night Visitors: A Guide to the Tenor of Love”. This story is clearly written in the second person, as the reader is the main character in the story. But somehow I managed to read the entire story feeling as if I was a spectator, watching these events play out before me. I read the story seeing this conflict between Trudy and Moss, not even realizing that I was Trudy in the story. I think the reason why I was able to read the whole story like a third person narrative was because of how often Trudy’s name appeared. The character that I was supposed to be had a name and was referred to as Trudy often, which confused me into thinking that this was not a second person narrative. However once I found out that this indeed was a second person narrative, my perspective on the story changed completely.

After realizing that this story was written in second person, I was shocked and I went back to reread the story keeping this in mind. I found that the experience was entirely different the second time around when I read the story as it should have been read in the first place. I learned that the second person narrative made the story itself much more engaging. When I read the story as if I were a spectator, I didn’t feel very invested in the characters, as I had nothing to do with them at all. Trudy’s problems and doubts about her husband were her problems, not mine. I was watching someone struggling with their own difficulties, and my only job was to hear out her story. But when I read the story keeping in mind that I was Trudy, Trudy’s problems and doubts became my own, and I felt responsible for the different choices that I made in the story. Reading this story with me in Trudy’s shoes provided a much more immersive experience. I was able to sympathize more with the thoughts that Trudy had and choices that she made, as I realized that I might not act very differently under such circumstances.

Overall, I learned a lot about the second person narrative through “Amahl and the Night Visitors” and the collection as a whole. I realized how much more interesting a story can be just by changing the point of view. I never knew that you could write such great stories using the second person. The immersive and engaging experience that a second person narrative provides truly makes it a special style of writing. Did others really enjoy the way that Lorrie Moore used the second person? Do you agree that it was much more engaging than if the story had been written in third person?