Point of View

Each of the selected short stories is written from a distinct point of view. “The Cabuliwallah,” for example, is written from the first person point of view of an unnamed narrator. The narrator is a man of society and wealth. He also works as a writer. These facets of his identity dictate his narrative perspective, voice, and tone. Indeed, throughout the majority of the short story, the way that he describes himself, his life, and others is the result of his social class and self-regard. It is not until he discovers that the peddler Rahman “also [is] a father” at the story’s end, that the narrator’s tone and perspective shift (16). Realizing that he and Rahman are in fact equals humbles the narrator and thus softens his outlook in the final passages of the story. The author therefore inhabits this character’s point of...