Narrator and point of view

The short story “Autumn Evening” by Langston Hughes is told from the point of view of a third-person narrator, who has access to the thoughts of both characters, although we are mainly given Mary’s perspective.

The narrator offers little information about Mary and Bill’s background. For example, we do not know why they ended their relationship. According to the narrator: “something not very important had come between them, and they didn’t speak.” Here, it seems that the narrator downplays the seriousness of the cause of the break-up, especially if we take into consideration the outcome.

At times, the narrator off...