Penetrative ‘you’ in thought presentation in Samantha Harvey’s Orbital

Abstract

This paper examines the penetrative use of the second-person pronoun ‘you’ in thought presentation, with special focus on Samantha Harvey’s Orbital (2023). While the use of ‘you’ has been widely studied in spoken narratives and second-person fiction, this study explores its functions particularly in character thought presentation. Drawing on Sorlin’s (2022) six-point reference model, it demonstrates how ‘you’ in Orbital functions in three key ways: as self-address, as apostrophic address to absent others, and as a collective pronoun encompassing the crew. These uses are inherently ambiguous, shifting between specificity and generality, and they enable the narrative to bridge the astronauts’ physical reality to their emotional ties to Earth. In doing so, ‘you’ reveals both individual and collective subjectivity, inviting readers into a shared perspective that emphasizes interconnection and vulnerability.