Narrator and point of view

The events described in the short story “How to Pronounce Knife” by Souvankham Thammavongsa are told by a third-person narrator. The narrator is outside the story and is only an observer of the events. 

Throughout the text, the narrator adopts Joy’s perspective of the events. Consequently, the narrator’s knowledge is limited to what Joy experiences. For example, readers do not get to hear about Joy’s father’s struggles from himself. Instead, they get to hear about his problems only when Joy listens to him talking about his day (ll. 18-22). 

The narrator has access to Joy’s thoughts and feelings: “As she watches her father eat his dinner, she thinks of what else he doesn’t know. What else she would have to find out for herself” (ll. 90-91). Here, the narrator focuses on Joy’s realization that her parents are no ...