Narrator and point of view

The short story “The Bench” by Richard Rive is told by a third-person narrator. The narrator is outside the events and functions as an observer, using the perspective of Karlie, the main character. The narrator only has access to Karlie’s point of view and does not seem to know what other characters think and feel. Therefore, we can say that the narrator is limited.

The narrator has insight into what Karlie thinks and feels. For example, the narrator knows that Karlie is thinking about his village: “His mind was away from the meeting and the bench: he was thinking of Bietjiesvlei and Ou Klaas…” (p. 215, ll. 10-12). The narrator also presents Karlie’s own interpretation of events, for example, when we are told that Karlie talks with “the arroga...