Narrator

The narrator introduces the story in the framing paragraphs before the main story begins. The narrator is a writer and readers may assume that the character is meant to directly reflect the views of Nadine Gordimer, the author of the short story, although there is no specific information that makes this interpretation explicit. The narrator is initially resistant to writing a story for children but becomes more open to the idea as a way of exploring the fear of crime which wakes them in the night.

The narrator shares many of the same fears as the man and his wife who are depicted in the story. Like the family, the narrator lives somewhere with a high rate of crime, and can list a number of recent crimes that have occurred in their area. Unlike the family in the story, however, the narrator does not take any extra security...