Narrator and point of view

The short story “The Idea” by Raymond Carver is narrated in the past tense by an unknown first-person narrator. The dialogue, however, is in the present tense.

The narrator is subjective. She tells the story from her point of view, and she tends to observe the behavior of other characters. This means that the actions and feelings of other characters are subject to the narrator’s interpretation. For example, after she tells Vern that she is going to confront the neighboring woman, the narrator interprets Vern’s reaction: “But I could tell he didn’t think I was serious” (p. 65, l. 27).. Similarly, the narrator also provides insights into Vern’s state of mind: “Vern’s a little embarrassed about watching, I think” (p. 64, ll. 17-18). However, the use of the phrase “I think” shows that the narrator...