Jazz's Omniscient Narrator

Stephanie Brand

WC: 827

A books narrator changes usually based on the literary genre and the message the author is trying to convey. Many modern books are written in the third person—either limited or omniscient—which hint at an impassive narrator who is simply watching the story unfold from a bird’s eye view. The lesser used point-of-views are the second person and the first person narratives. Second person narratives insert the reader into the action through the use of “you” as a point of reference for the main protagonist. First person narratives read like a story being told through the perspective of the narrator, this causes them to usually be biased. The narrator is limited to their own experiences of the events that happen throughout the story. Jazz by Toni Morrison is written in the first person, but, unlike other books, it is written in first person omniscient—instead of limited. Hence, the narrator’s sympathies and attitude towards the story reflect what the other characters are feeling about the events taking place and each other. 

Morrison doesn’t make it easy to pin down what point of view Jazz is written in, but, ultimately, the first person is the option that fits the best. The first sentence of the book is what gives this away: “Sth, I know that woman,” (Morrison 1). This line is written in the first person; it sets up the rest of the page to be read as the first person too, even as it switches to a more third person perspective. Through the use of “I” in the first sentence, the whole narrative now sounds like a story being told by the narrator. Even as it switches to other perspectives, the first person takes precedent as the main style of narration throughout the story.

However, this style of first person narration is peculiar. This is especially true when considering how often the narration seems to change to other points-of-view or hint to the actual thoughts that specific characters are feeling. An example of this can be found in the quote,“In the photograph and from what Violet could remember from the coffin…” (Morrison 15). This is very strange. There is no reason for a first person narrator to know what Violet is thinking, when she thinks of Dorcas. A first person narrator should be limited to their own perspective of events, but Jazz’s narrator knows that Violet thinks that Dorcas needs her roots trimmed, or how Joe feelings when he first met Dorcas, and so on. Hence, the narrator has a type of omniscience that allows them to see all the characters perspectives. This also explains why the narration style changes so often—it reflects the thinking style of the character whose thoughts are being intruded on. 

First person perspectives tend to be biased. However, since the narrator is omniscient, the sympathies within Jazz come from the character’s own feelings towards each other while the narrator remains fairly neutral. A prime example of this is Joe. He shot Dorcas, yet he is never really held accountable for this or really described as a murderer. This seems to be a blip on his record and nothing else. This is because none of the other characters really blame Joe for what happened. Violet is angry about the affair, but most of her anger revolves around Dorcas’ part in it, not Joe’s. Alice directs most of her anger towards Violet rather than Joe: “The woman who ruined the service…” (Morrison 74). This is most likely caused by Alice’s own, seemingly, internalized hatred of women and because she sees Violet so often. Even Joe, himself, doesn’t really seem to acknowledge his part in Dorcas’ death—besides that fact that she’s dead and he misses her. Since the narrative is based on the characters thoughts towards each other, the murder becomes a minor thing in relation to Joe’s part in it. Violet and Dorcas end up taking more of the blame, which is due to the opinions the other characters have about them. Throughout all of this, the narrator never expresses their own thoughts on the matter, with the exception of a few clarifying points or random thoughts. The narrator never truly interjects with an opinion about who the reader should sympathize with or points out the bias the characters have against one another. They let the characters decide what is important and who is to blame. 

In conclusion, Jazz is narrated by an unknown, objective, omniscient being. The characters have free-reign of the story and their opinions about each other are allowed to sway the reader to their side. The narrator remains an impassive observer and occasionally relates to one of the character’s inner thoughts. Mostly, they tell the events that took place, give background information, and let the character’s do the rest. Once this understanding is reached, the question that remains is: who is this being that is relaying these events to the reader?