Structure

The short story “Paki” by Guaram Malkani has a chronological plot structure as it presents an incident where a gang of boys of South Asian descent are beating up a white boy. 

The story starts in medias res with Hardjit, the gang’s leader, kicking the boy and telling him not to call anyone a Paki: 

Dont u b tellin any a us pakis dat we b pakis like our paki bredren from Pakistan. 
Serve him right he got his muthafuckin face fuck'd, shudn't b callin me a paki, innit. After spittin his words out Hardjit stopped for a second, like he expected one of us to write them down or someshit. Then he adds an exclamation mark by kickin the white kid in the face again.

The beginning of the story provides a reason for the fight and intrigues the reader. First of all, the strange language and spelling immediately draws the reader’s attention and also forces them to focus on what is being said. Then, the fact that the story starts with Hardjit beating someone while the narrator sits back and watches also gives clues to their dynamic and invites the reader to find out what is happening. 

The story contains several flashbacks. In one flashback, the narrator shows how a teacher once tried to get him to improve his English: 

It’s basically the sort of shit ...