Narrator and point of view

The short story “Paradise” by Matthew Kneale is a third-person narration, using a limited knowledge perspective.

The narrator, who is outside of the plot, uses the main character’s point of view to convey the events: “Neville took in the scene. The group of people were gathered about the fire, their faces lit by the orange glow of the flames.” (ll. 10-12)

As a result, the narrator has limited knowledge on the events. We only know what Neville knows and this gives the story several elements of surprise. We only find out towards the end that Neville is a guidebook writer and that the villagers were intentionally kind towards him: “ ‘Of course. Do you think we are stupid? We heard you are coming days ago. English guidebook man.’ ” (ll. 179-180). We do not know what the other characters...