Narrator and point of view

The short story “Buttony” by Fiona McFarlane is told entirely in the past tense by a third-person narrator.

Most of the story is told through the perspective of the teacher, Miss Lewis, and this makes the narrator somewhat unreliable: “She looked at Joseph, and he was watching her, so she nodded at him. His face was impassive” (ll. 114-115). We question her judgement and perspective on events as it becomes clear that she is biased towards Joseph and seems to treat him in an almost sexual way despite his very young age. Also, the often questionable interpretation of Joseph's actions further strengthen the theory that the narrator unreliable: “He looked up at Miss Lewis and she looked at him, and it was as if, from inside that hair, he were acknowledging sorrow and solitude and fatigue, and also routine and expectation and quietness” (ll. 61-64). In this case, Miss Lewis sees something that is probbly not true and seems to project her own emotions on Joseph. Also, Miss Lewis allows the children in her class to play games all ...