Narrator and point of view

The short story “The Shape of a Star” by Jen Knox is a first-person narration, with the narrator also being the main character. Usually, authors choose to employ a first-person narrator in their stories in order to make the text more relatable for the reader, who can easily empathize with the narrator’s experience.

As a first-person narrator, the young woman has limited knowledge regarding current events. She does not know that the bearded man was a former student of her mother’s and she finds out the truth together with the readers:

“You look like someone,” he says. I wait, stare at his beard.
Keys.”
My old art teacher. I mean, you’re young, but you look just like her. Your Mom used to teach painting at the rec center?”
Used to, yeah.”
He smiles with his eyes, warm and unassuming. “I had such a crush on you – I mean her – when I was a kid.” (ll. 5-11)

When narrating past events, the young woma...