Narrator and point of view

The short story “Better Homes and Gardens” by Catherine Moffat is narrated in the present tense by an unnamed first-person narrator: “I sit under the light on the bench in the change room and start my homework while Dad and Grace shower” (l. 17). However, the narration often employs first-person plural personal pronouns (“us”, “we”): “If it's windy Dad makes us run up and down the beach 'getting the wiggles out', and when we're warm enough we dive in” (ll. 11-12). This is done to create a sense of community, as the family is a tight knitted unit. The two children share similar experiences since they have limited options of entertainment or outings. It also reflects how the narrator feels responsible for his younger sister.

The narrator is mostly reliable because he appears to recount the events as they happen and the narration does not seem fragmented, and consequently, the reader’s understanding of the text is not impaired. However, the narrator is a child whose understanding of the events may be limited. For example, the narrator fails to recognise that Uncle is probably drunk when he asks for his help (ll. 128-130). This limited unders...