Narrator and point of view

The short story “Prospect House” by Frances Childs is a first-person narration. The narrator of the short story is Kim, the protagonist.

She presents the events from her subjective, limited-knowledge perspective. She can make assumptions about the other characters, and comment on what she observes or finds out, but she cannot know what they are thinking or how the events will unfold: “When I first arrived at Prospect House the other girls stared at me with a mixture of wary contempt and vague interest. I’d come from London you see, the city.” (ll. 1-3); “I suspect Di is trying to get pregnant. ‘Don’t get pregnant Di,’ I say.” (ll. 59-60)

The use of the first-person narrator makes readers more likely to empathise with Kim’s situation and with ...