Narrator / Tess

The narrator (who the reader eventually learns is named Tess) is the central character/protagonist. The fact that the narrator has no name for most of the novel is reflective of the fact that she is yet to define herself as an individual. The narrator moves to New York in order to become the person she is going to be, leaving everything from her past behind her and not allowing anything of her early life to define who she will be in her later years. The narrator establishes an identity for herself by identifying with her job at the restaurant. The more she becomes confident in her work, the more the reader learns about her personality. The fact that she has established herself as an individual person with a coherent identity is symbolized when she receives an award at the restaurant’s New Year’s Day party...