Narrator and point of view

The short story “It’s Beginning to Hurt” by James Lasdun is told by a limited third-person narrator focusing on Mr Bryar’s perspective: “The news had stunned him: he hadn’t known she was ill, but then he hadn’t seen her for seven years. Throughout the service he had found himself weeping uncontrollably” (p. 124, ll. 18-20). Mr Bryar’s thoughts and feelings are presented in detail, but the reader does not have access into the minds of the other characters.

Part of the narration is explicit, with the events described clearly and in detail, such as in the following example:

The man slit the creature’s belly with a short knife, spilling the dewy beige guts into a bucket. He rinsed the flecked mesh of scales and the red flesh inside, then wrapped the fish in paper and put it in a plastic bag. (p. 125, ll. 7-10)

However, these details suggest Mr Bryar’s inne...