Characterization

In the following section, we will help you with the characterization of Piper, who is also the protagonist in this short story.  Even though the story is written as a third person narrative, the author presents us the events through Piper’s experience; the author and the reader thus only have access to the main character’s thoughts. The other characters, such as the pilot, the father and Tuttle are only presented through their interactions with Piper.

From the very beginning, we find out that the protagonist is a woman and that she is concerned with death:

“There are more ways to die in this place than a woman can count.” (p.109, ll. 1-2)

Growing up in a dangerous place like Alaska, Piper has become a fatalist, continuously worried about death...