One of the most underrated literary elements in the culture of writing is the point of view from which a story, poem, or piece of literature is told. This, often singular, viewpoint can either make or break an author’s work. It is essentially the frame that provides a structure for every other element of the story to be built upon. In Max Berry’s Machine Man, it is the point of view that influences the development of the novel in the most crucial of ways. Not only does the story being told from the point of view of Charles Nuemann, the forward-thinking and insatiable scientist behind his own self-improvement campaign, lend volumes to the theme expressed, but it also contributes to the reader’s understanding of the novel and answers the question
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In this story, Max Barry writes about an incredibly different yet strangely realistic and plausible topic. What makes the novel so strange, however, is not the topic itself, but more the viewpoint from which it is presented and relayed across the page. From anyone else but Dr. Nuemman’s point of view, this would be a simple tale of a scientist who screwed up, got his leg chopped off, got a prosthetic, made it better, became obsessed with improving the human body, and worked in this field before meeting his eventual demise. Yet this is not the case. Barry writes “I hesitated. She seemed convincing. But then again, I was an extraordinarily poor judge of people” and from this it is immediately obvious that, without it, so much less would be understood of Dr. Nuemann’s reaction (Barry 152). It is exactly this insight that is spread throughout the whole novel and thus provides the reader with a heightened knowledge of the main characters thoughts and emotions. This allows for an entirely new story to be created around the simple step by step progression that is the backbone of the novel. Therefore, if this story were not written in this point of view, the reader would be excluded from the opportunity to understand the true life of Dr. Charles Nuemann and not just the series of events that have taken place. Because this story is told through the eye of the beholder, a new element and understanding is brought forth that develops this odd storyline into a work that draws emotion, intrigue, and imagination that is created just by tapping into the thoughts of Dr. Charles
In this story, Max Barry writes about an incredibly different yet strangely realistic and plausible topic. What makes the novel so strange, however, is not the topic itself, but more the viewpoint from which it is presented and relayed across the page. From anyone else but Dr. Nuemman’s point of view, this would be a simple tale of a scientist who screwed up, got his leg chopped off, got a prosthetic, made it better, became obsessed with improving the human body, and worked in this field before meeting his eventual demise. Yet this is not the case. Barry writes “I hesitated. She seemed convincing. But then again, I was an extraordinarily poor judge of people” and from this it is immediately obvious that, without it, so much less would be understood of Dr. Nuemann’s reaction (Barry 152). It is exactly this insight that is spread throughout the whole novel and thus provides the reader with a heightened knowledge of the main characters thoughts and emotions. This allows for an entirely new story to be created around the simple step by step progression that is the backbone of the novel. Therefore, if this story were not written in this point of view, the reader would be excluded from the opportunity to understand the true life of Dr. Charles Nuemann and not just the series of events that have taken place. Because this story is told through the eye of the beholder, a new element and understanding is brought forth that develops this odd storyline into a work that draws emotion, intrigue, and imagination that is created just by tapping into the thoughts of Dr. Charles