Point of View

"I have things up my sleeve. But I am the opposite of a stage magician. He gives you the illusion that has the appearance of truth. I give you truth in the pleasant disguise of illusion."

This excerpt is from the very beggining of the story, and Tom is speaking. Right away he announces that he will be narrating the story. He says that he will tell the story out of his memory, which is unrealistic. Because the story is from his memory, there are specific parts in the play where it is obvious that unrealism is occuring. For example, it occurs when Tom asks Laura who's ever escaped from a coffin with only one nail. Right when he says that, the father's portrait lights up. It is as if the father is answering the question though we know this would never happen in a realistic world. In this case, nonrealism gives off a sense of irony because the father's portrait is focused on after the question is raised by Tom.