The first word of the novel is “I,” which immediately introduces the most important character: the narrator. As a well-educated man who studied sociology in college, the narrator is both curious about the world and initially skeptical of the bold and unsupported claims about the Manuscript, considering them “fanciful and unrealistic” (17). He refers to his “self-imposed isolation” (2), an indication of his withdrawal from active social engagement for a time of reflection on life. He tells Charlene in the opening chapter that he is “thinking about changing directions” in his life (3).

A few details about the narrator’s backstory are scattered throughout the story, such as the time he spent in Charlottesville, Virginia, with Charlene and his relationship with his grandfather. He previously worked with “emotionally disturbed adolescents” (145) but reached a point in his career when he realized that something was missing in his approach. Nevertheless, it is clear from this limited background that the narrator is a socially engaged individual who is committed to the improvement of humanity. He is restless and unsettled at the beginning of the story, which the First Insight says is characteristic of the current age.

As the central character of the novel, the narrator has a clear arc of development that culminates in a crisis point—his mystical

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