Who is the narrator, can she or he read minds, and, more importantly, can we trust her or him?
Third Person (Omniscient)
Buckle up because we're going to be bouncing around a lot in Pudd'nhead Wilson. That is, the third person omniscient point of view of this novel means that we get to move in and out of the consciousness (the thoughts and feelings) of lots of different characters.
Third person omniscient POV allows us to get a glimpse of the experiences of characters that are as different as Roxy and Judge Driscoll. And we're not simply given information about what these guys are craving for lunch. No, we're privy to their innermost thoughts and feelings. Let's hope you can keep a secret.
We're right there with Tom, for instance, in the thick of his crisis after he finds out he was actually born a slave:
[Tom] began to think. Sufficiently bitter thinkings they were. They wandered along something after this fashion:
"Why were n*****s and whites made? What crime did the uncreated first n***** commit that the curse of birth was decreed for him? And why is this awful difference made between white and black? [. . .]" (10.3)
Wow, we're so deep into Tom's head here that we might even start asking these questions, too.
Through third person omniscient POV, we just as easily find ourselves with an up-close-and- personal view of Roxy's feelings:
A profound terror had taken possession of [Roxy]. Her child could grow up and be sold down the river! The thought crazed her with horror. (3.1)
OMG. We can practically feel the chill running down her spine.
This perspective even lets us slip into the minds of really minor characters like Rowena. That's what sets this point of view apart from its slightly less godlike cousin, third person limited omniscient which only gives us the perspective of a few major players. The narrator notes:
When the forenoon was nearly gone, [Rowena] recognized with a pang that his most splendid episode of her life was almost over, that nothing could prolong it, that nothing quite its equal could ever fall to her fortune again. (6.18)
Uh, we barely know this lady and here we are with front row seats watching her experience the high point of her life.
Sure, it may take a little while to get used to all this bouncing around. But it can also end up being pretty fun (just ask Tigger).