English Unnamed Narrator

The unnamed narrator is the perspective through which the reader experiences the story. The narrator’s jobs, liaison for the British Treasury in India and writer for a local newspaper, indicate that he is male. He describes himself as “a wanderer and a vagabond” and states that he was “fellow to a beggar again and again” (4, 3). Despite working for the government, the narrator does not have enough money to maintain a comfortable lifestyle. For example, on his business trip, he “consorted with Princes…drinking from crystal” and “sometimes…lay out upon the ground and devoured what [he] could get” (8). Even still, he was well-mannered and educated enough to be trusted with this important work.

The narrator proves himself trustworthy, but maintains an uncorrupted loyalty to the British government. He delivers Carnehan’s message to Dravot as promised, but he uses what he knows about the two...