How does Knowles use memory structure to shape the narrative?

• A. The story unfolds in a strict chronological order with no reflection.
• B. The narrative alternates between Finny's memories and Gene's current perspective.
• C. The story unfolds through Gene's retrospective memories, layering present reflection with past events to explore guilt and interpretation.
• D. The narration is entirely from an omniscient third-person perspective.

Answer: (C)

Knowles uses a retrospective memory structure that centers the narration in Gene’s adult perspective as he looks back on his time at Devon. This framing creates a layered storytelling effect: present reflections mingle with remembered events from the past, so the reader experiences the summer not as a simple, linear sequence but as a mosaic filtered through Gene’s guilt, rationalizations, and evolving interpretations. Because the narrator’s viewpoint is colored by what he has become, memory becomes a tool for exploring how truth and meaning are shaped by emotion and perspective. This also makes the narrative mood more complex and unreliable in a constructive way, inviting readers to weigh what actually happened against Gene’s interpretation of those events.

In contrast, a strictly chronological narration with no reflection would lack the psychological depth that drives the story, and presenting Finny’s or others’ memories would shift the focus away from Gene’s internal processing. An omniscient third-person voice would remove the intimate, biased lens through which we experience the events.