Narrator and point of view

The events in the short story “The Disaster Store” by Helen Phillips are told by a first-person narrator, who is also the story’s main character. Therefore, the story is told strictly from the narrator’s perspective, which helps readers understand what she is going through.

The narrator’s anxiety is revealed at the beginning of the story when she talks about the seemingly-innocent weather: 

My daughter is asking for ice cream, but I need to listen to what the salesman is saying. The stakes are through the roof (he says), and I myself know that, despite the innocent warmth of the day (or, rather, because of the innocent warmth of the day), there is much to fear.

The narrator’s anxiety increases as the events unfold, particularly when her daught...