Characterization of the narrator

The narrator is an important character in the short story “The Free Radio” by Salman Rushdie. The narrative does not offer many details about his outer characterization, except for the fact that he is a retired teacher (p. 20, ll. 5-6) with a high social status: “I am not without importance in the town” (p. 19, ll. 27-28). He is also old (p. 17, l. 12), and he is a smoker (p. 17, ll. 16-17)

The narrator’s inner characterization reveals that he is prejudiced against the thief’s widow. The narrator never calls her by her name and makes assumptions about her. For example, he assumes that she is a prostitute (p. 18, l. 7-10) and that she does not take proper care of her children: “Her children must have gone hungry to pay for the ride” (p. 18, l. 14). 

The narrator is also a hypocrite, as he pretends that he does not get involved in gossip about the thief’s w...