Characterization of the narrator

The narrator of the short story “Hemi’s gift” by TJ Corrigan is a woman whose name is not mentioned. Her outer characterization is not very detailed. Her gender is only revealed in the second half of the story when another character refers to her as “girl” (l. 95). Her age is not explicitly stated but we know she is a university student (l. 56). She is of Māori descent and has “brown skin” (l. 28).

She is an only child (l. 53), and she has recently lost her father. Her home city is Whāngarei (l. 5) but she is currently living in Auckland in a university dorm (l. 65). She is the first person in her family to go to university and it is suggested her father is proud of her for this (l. 119). This indicates she is ambitious and wants to make her family proud. 

The narrat...