Narrator and point of view

Narrator

The short story “Strawberry Spring” by Stephen King is narrated in the past tense by an unnamed narrator. The narrator also makes use of the present tense, especially in the dialogue and in the sections set in the narrative present (at the beginning and the end).

The narrator initially seems to be reliable, because he appears to recount the events as they happen. However, it is important to note that the narrator suffers from memory loss (ll. 260-261), and, therefore, can only present the story through fragmented memories. His thinking might also be impaired because of this. Furthermore, his uncertainty about whether or not he is a killer indicates that he might be unreliable as a narrator.  

The narrator is subjective. The narrator seems critical of some characters and their actions: “The press, always fickle, ignored the strong resemblance (…)” (l. 162). The narrator also intervenes with certain comments or remarks about people or situations: “she was a fat, sadly pretty thing who lived in an apartment in town with three other girls” (ll. 223-224); “The campus newspaper published a strongly indignant, if slightly incoherent, editorial protesting this” (ll. 172-173). He also...