Narrator and point of view

The short story “Collectors” by Raymond Carver is told by a first-person narrator. The narrator is also the main character, a man who might be called Mr. Slater, but whose real identity is never fully revealed.

The narrator mixes the description of the events with his reflections: “The knock sounded again, louder, a bad sign. I eased up and tried to see onto the porch. But whoever was there was standing against the door, another bad sign.” (p. 78, ll. 11-13). The narrator does not provide much detail about his feelings concerning Aubrey Bell's visit, which further highlights his passivity.

The narrator is generally explicit about the events, recounting them in a straightforward and detailed manner:

He kicked on the vacuum and I held tight as the scoop sank into the pillow and moved down its length – once, twice, three times. He switched off the vacuum, removed the filter, an...