Narrator and point of view

The short story “Waiting for Spring” by Tamara Jones is narrated in the past tense by a third-person narrator. The only exception from the past tense is the dialogue, which makes use of the present tense.

The narrator is objective because the narration conveys the facts of the story. The narrator recounts the characters’ actions but does not interpret them and rarely describes the character’s state of mind or openly passes judgement.

The narrator’s point of view is limited because he or she seems to offer insights only about William’s state of mind. The narrator presents William’s thoughts: “For the end of February, he thought, it was pretty bloody freezing still” (ll. 49-50). The narrator also presents William’s emotions: “William felt himself become dispirited” (l. 44), “He missed Gary” (l. 56).The narration also follows the action as William sees a...