The novel In the Heat of the Night is written in the third person, a limited omniscient. This point of view is effective because it captures and keeps the intensity and anticipation, as well as the feeling and the mood of mystery in the story. Sam Wood and Bill Gillespie are the only two characters that we know what they are thinking. Those two are most likely to be wrong every time, Gillespie said, “Don’t need one… I’ve just read the folder on him… suspicion of murder.” (31-33). By not enlightening what is going on in Virgil's mind and about whom he believes the murderer is. It contributes a lot in the case, which makes it a mystery. The novelist creates more suspense in the story, because if we knew what Virgil was thinking in his mind, we would easily know of what was to come.
Discrimination is racial approach that has an effect on people negatively. The main drama in the novel is the underlying racial issue going throughout the entire book. The main character, Virgil Tibbs, is a tough individual who finds himself in with many racial situations. The first racial example in the novel is when Sam Woods take into custody Virgil Tibbs without any reason at all as he waits to catch a train. "On your feet, black boy he ordered...No you don’t…Make one false move and I'll drop you right then with a bullet in your spine" (15-16). Virgil Tibs is offended because of race, black skin and on top of that, he is threatened with a gun. This shows that this novel has a lot of racial issues.
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