“New Journalism” Technique in “The Right Stuff”

Much of the technique discussed by Tom Wolfe in “The Birth of New Journalism” is present in his book “The Right Stuff.” The predominant example of new journalism discussed in the article that I found in the novel was shifting of point of view. Throughout “The Right Stuff,” Wolfe switches point of view very rapidly. Sometimes this is done with grace, but oftentimes the point of view switch is very forced and unfriendly, which is done purposely by Wolfe for stylistic effect. I found the shifting of point of view most commonly utilized at the start of the novel, however this is probably because at that point in the book shifting of point of view is most noticeable because the reader has not yet gotten to know the characters and the plot so it becomes confusing. Wolfe starts with a very omniscient third person view, discussing the official Wife Lingo that is unspoken and describing the emotions of Jane and other characters. However, he quickly rushes into Jane’s point of view:

“My own husband- how could this be what they were talking about?” (3)

He shifts back to his third person view, describing the continuation of the phone call chain and then makes another shift. Though the narration is coming from the same place, he drastically shifts over to the scene that Pete Conrad is enduring, the topic that Jane and the fellow wives are discussing and curious about. The narration of what has happened to Pete contradicts the direction that the narrator was taking us when the story was focused on Jane, and this too has an extremely unique stylistic effect because it shows that the narrator knows all but it seems as if the thoughts are coming from the characters themselves because the narrations almost contradict each other, written as if the narrator had limited knowledge even though he knows what is going on from both sides. These shifts which continue throughout the first few chapters really set up the story in an interesting way, exposing the reader to many different characters and plot points quickly, but revealing little enough that the reader stays wondering about each of said characters and plot points.