Narrator and point of view

“This Is All Mostly True” by Kathy Stevens is narrated from a first-person point of view by the protagonist, a teenage girl named Elsie who suffers from an unknown illness. The first-person narration helps readers access the narrator’s inner thoughts and understand more about the character and her perception on herself and her life.

The narrator’s limited point of view is illustrated through the fact that she conveys her thoughts but does not have access to the other characters’ thoughts or feelings. Instead, the narrator simply reports on what they do or say: “she often puts her foot right through her tights and they rip and she swears and shouts and her jagged big toenail sticks right through the nylon and I get upset and have an episode.” (ll. 18-20) 

However, the narrator is perceptive and is able to characterise others based on their behaviours: “Stacie didn’t say that I am an obligation, because Stacie’s very careful with the truth” (ll. 23-24). At the same time, the narrator rarely interprets the other characters’ actions...