Narrator and point of view

The short story is a first-person narration. The main character, a young woman with Sri Lankan origins, is also the storyteller.

Using the point of view of the main character helps readers relate better with the daughter, understand her perspective and inner conflicts in relation to her mother and native culture: “… I promised, felling guilty and relived to be going, to consider the necklace, and perhaps another pair of earrings.” (p. 108, ll. 17-19); “…I began to think that maybe I would. I wondered what Andrew would think, if he would know what to think…” (p. 104, ll. 16- 18)

As the narrator is also a character, the events are conveyed using a limited-knowledge perspective. While we have access to the narrator’s thoughts and observations, we do not know what other characters think. The narrator (and the...