Narrator and point of view

In “Monster in a Ryokan” by Mary Roach the main character is also the narrator, who presents her experiences from a first-person point of view. Note that everything we find out about the narrator is offered by the narrator herself, so we should also discuss the narrator’s reliability. Every first-person narrator is subjective and expresses his/her opinions through the filter of his/her own perspective. For example, we get the impression that the narrator exaggerates her mistakes for the sake of humor.

When you discuss the narrator of the story, keep in mind that there is no indication in the text regarding the gender of the narrator. We do not know for sure whether the narrator is male or female, but we can assume that the narrator may be inspired by the author’s own experiences as a traveler in Japan.

There are a few instances in which some of the hotel staff’s opinions are presented; however, nothing is certain, as they are presented from the narrator’s perspective, like in the following examples:...