Structure

The short story “We Do Not Deal in Guilt and Blame” by Kate London has a chronological plot structure. The story follows events from the narrator’s life as she attempts to find her own identity and deal with a relationship that she no longer wants.

The story begins in medias res as the narrator and her boyfriend have an argument because the narrator accepted to go out with her friends even though she made plans with her boyfriend. The first lines of the short story hint at the power imbalance in the characters’ relationship: “I was apologising. He was tall, very tall in fact, about six foot four, and older than me.” (l. 1). This also shows that the characters’ relationship is a central focus of the narrative. 

The argument hints that there might also be a conflict be...