Narrator and point of view

The short story “Neighbors” by Raymond Carver is narrated by a third-person narrator, which is typical of modern short stories.

Although the narrative is generally presented in a factual, objective way, the narrator does have some insight into Bill Miller’s thoughts and sometimes shares Bill’s point of view: “He had the feeling he had left something.” (p. 88, ll. 9-10). Also, at the beginning of the story, the narrator seems to have some insight into both of the Millers’ thoughts: “But now and then they felt they alone among their circle had been passed by somehow.” (p. 86, ll. 1-3)

In this short story, the narrative style is minimalistic. This is seen by the fact that the idea of ‘show, don’t tell’ is employed. Although we do get some insight into Bill’s though...