Story/Collection/Novella/Novel: Black Box

Author: Jennifer Egan

Who is (are) the protagonist(s)

Jennifer Egan is the protagonist of Black Box.

Whose point of view dominates the storytelling? And why?

Jennifer Egan’s point of view dominates the storytelling because it a story where she had gone undercover to meet a rich and powerful man. This mission was meant to search for his primary source of income. This style of writing is closer to subjective narration where the story is told by one character. However, the story also includes the inner thought and feeling of the protagonist thus it also has a little similar feature to the interior monologue.

Detail the plot points:

The story begins with the explanation the importance of first impression and how to make you looks irresistible and invisible at the same time. The protagonist, Jennifer Egan, had gone undercover to a house party of a powerful man who is violent and ruthless. The mission she received instructed her to infiltrate a live of criminals where she would be in constant danger. It seemed impossible and she was told that some of the spies might not make it back alive but those who do will be heroes. To begin with, this mission was meant for those who loved the country, desire changed and willing to sacrifice themselves to change the course of history. Whenever Jennifer is with the designated man, she would always try to gather all the information she can grasp by observing and hearing his conversation. There are times that she tempted to pull the cord because it almost gives away her identity of being a spy. However, she managed to conceal herself by not being in a center of attraction. She would try to make herself looks attractive but not catching too much attention. By doing so allow her to get closer to the valuable evidence, which means she would be able get more information out of him.

As she was spending time with the powerful man in the sea, she was exposed to vary common questions. These common questioning from the man seemed unimportant but to her, it may be the last question she ever heard. The fact that she is at the enemy’s base exposing to the danger, she has to pay attention to every detail to look out for herself. She did so by interpreting every response she received and carefully answer with cautious. After swimming, Jennifer followed the designated man back to the villa. When she got inside her room, she reminded herself not to look for hidden cameras because by doing so will give you away. She pretended to be asleep when the man walked out to the balcony to receive a call. She tried to get closer to him as possible without him noticing her presence and record the conversation with the recorder that was implanted just beyond her right ear canal. She did it successfully without getting caught.

On the next scene, the man seemed to be looking all over for Jennifer as he planned to bring her along with him on a speedboat. The captain drove them to the destiny shore and left as soon as it landed. The unfamiliar place gives the feeling of insecure. She overheard the conversation that suggests this arrival was expected. The powerful man greet the host with firm hand shake which shows that this was their firs time meeting. The host pays no attention to Jennifer, which in a way also meant that she would not be closely watched. She then met with the alpha beauty for the first time. Later on, there seems an important business conversation between the new host and the designated man. She was indirectly told to stay out of the conversation by the host but her designated man managed to convince the new host to let her in the conversation. During the conversation, she had to make herself seemed absolutely no interest in the subject they talked about, at the same time, while she turned on her recording device. She wanted to capture some picture evidence with her implanted camera on her left eye. In order to do so, she has to create a diversion so that