Narrator and point of view

The short story “The Thing Around Your Neck” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is written in the second person. The second-person point of view uses the pronoun “you” to make the audience a character in the story. This increases the reader’s empathy with the main character, Akunna. The story is, in fact, told from Akunna’s perspective, so the narrator is limited.

In order to give readers a more accurate perception of Akunna’s experience, her thoughts and feelings are often expressed directly in the narrative. For instance: 

You said no the following four days to going out with him because you were uncomfortable with the way he looked at your face, that intense, consuming way he looked way (…) that made you say goodbye to him but also made you reluct...