Narrator and point of view

The short story “The Red Line” by Charles Higson is told by a third person narrator. Through this third-person narration, readers also gain access to the characters’ internal monologue, which helps them understand more about the characters.

The limited point of view of the narrator is illustrated through the fact that the narrator follows the events and the characters’ perspective as they happen and only has insight into Berto’s, Denise’s, and the unnamed man’s minds, and not into the other characters mentioned in the story, such as Cathy or the man who is reading in the tube carriage.

The third person narrator has a mixed perspective. It borrows the characters’ point of view, switching between them, and also inserts its own comments. By telling the story through the characters’ eyes, the narrator conveys their state of mind. For example, Denise seems to be having a panic attack afte...