The narrative point of view in this story is first person. Henry Adams is the storyteller, and consequently, the reader's perspective is largely limited to Henry's own. We simply do not know what is going on inside the minds of other characters. We experience things as Henry does. This means that we are every bit as surprised or confused by things as Henry is.

There are times when the narrative perspective is slightly broken. This occurs, for instance, just after Henry is called into the room by the wealthy Englishmen. Henry offers us some backstory about these men, which he couldn't possibly have known at the time; however, the shift isn't that jarring, due to the fact that Henry is narrating all of this story in the past tense anyway.

A powerful symbol that runs throughout the entire piece is the million-pound bank note. It should be fairly obvious that the bank note is symbolic of wealth and power. It certainly works that way for Henry Adams: he is able to buy everything on credit, because everybody assumes that his million-pound bank note is actually backed by a real bank account. It doesn't matter that, in reality, Henry is completely broke. The bank note itself opens doors for Henry. He manages to use the bank note for good, but it should be noted that the bank note itself could also symbolically represent corruption. The two Englishmen are obviously wealthy enough to be able to back that money up. They can afford to do things most people can only dream about, but they choose to spend their time and possible future finances betting for or against the thirty-day survival of a human being. "Brother A" even predicts that a completely broke man with the bank-note would starve to death or wind up in jail. To Brother A, Henry is nothing more than a plaything to be toyed with and tested for no other purpose than a bet. His wealth has corrupted him.