Narrator and point of view

The events described in the short story “A Horse and Two Goats” by R. K. Narayan are told by a third-person narrator, who observes the exchange between the American and the old Indian man. The narrator presents the dialogue exactly as it takes place and does not offer any opinion on it. Therefore, we can say that the narrator is objective and unbiased. 

The narrator has insight into both characters’ thoughts and feelings. For example, the narrator knows what the old man assumes when seeing the American: “… the old man replied nervously, guessing that he was being questioned about a murder in the neighbourhood by this police officer from the government, as his khaki dress indicated” (p. 185, ll. 9-12). The last part of the story, when the narrator talks about the old man’s lifelong dream, suggests that the narrator has unlimited knowledge when it comes to him (p. 188, ll. 1-11).

The narrator also knows what the American thinks, like in the following example: “The red-faced man followed his look and decided it would be a sound policy to show an interest in the old man’s pets” (p. 187, ll. 42-43). Since readers are offered insight into the minds of both characters, the narrator is omniscient. 

The narrator follows the exchange between the two men, observing their reactions. At the beginning, the narrator also offers a description of the two statues and their background: “The big horse looked mottled, but at one time it was white as a dhobiwashed sheet, its back enveloped in a checkered brocade of pure red and black” (p. 184, ll. 16-18).

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