Narrator and point of view

The short story “Sweet Potato Pie” by Eugenia Collier is narrated from a first-person, limited point of view by Buddy, the main character. The narration consists mostly of a series of flashbacks to different periods in the narrator’s life. Through the first-person narration, readers can access the narrator’s inner thoughts and understand more about the character and his perspective.

The narrator’s limited point of view can be noticed as the narrator conveys his thoughts and feelings but does not have access to what the other characters are thinking or feeling. This can be observed, for example, when the narrator does not understand why Charley lied about them being friends, not brothers:

‘Your brother—I didn’t tell him I was your brother. I said you was a old friend of mine.’
I put my fork down and leaned over. ‘What you tell him that for?’ (p. 8, ll. 26-27)

When the other characters’ thoughts and feelings are suggested, they are only presented from Buddy’s perspective and...