Narrator and point of view

The short story “The Shining Mountain” by Alison Fells is told entirely in the past tense by a third-person narrator. 

Pangma-La’s perspective dominates the short story, and it influences certain aspects of the language and word choices used throughout. At times, the narrator reminds us that Pangma-La is still quite young: “Below them the houses and cars and her mother waving were small and bright as Smarties” (p. 19, ll. 12-13). In the context of the difficult journey ahead of them, this suggests the innocent thoughts of a young girl who compares the view from a plane to candy.

The omniscience of the narrator is reminiscent to that found in fairy tales. The narrator tends to show us the thoughts of Pangma-La through very explicit narration. For example, we see Pangma-La’s thoughts and feelings throughout the story: “Pangma-La woke up frightened and wanting her mother, but she said nothing, for she was afraid her father would be disappointed in her” (p. 19, ll. 23-25). The narrato...