Point of View

This story is written with third-person subjective narration in past tense, so the narrator has access to Komura’s thoughts and emotions, but not those of other characters. The author uses the third-person subjective narration in this story because he intends to create a relationship between the reader and Komura. Understanding Komura’s thoughts and feelings allows the reader to be able to relate to Komura in a more profound way. Moreover, this narration facilitates the exploration of the theme of psychological hardship. This is because the ability to access Komura’s thoughts allows the reader to understand the reasons for Komura’s issues. For example, on page 20, Komura fails to engage in intercourse with Shimao because he is concerned about the earthquake. However, in the earlier sections of the story, Komura appears to be more concerned about the loss of his wife than anything...