Point of View

"The Other One" is told from a third-person point of view with limited access to Heloise's thoughts and emotions. This perspective allows the author to dramatize the story's central theme about the way the past is communicated through many different filters. By focusing on Heloise's experience of her father's death and the aftermath, the story shows how her mother's narrative about the accident has left her feeling uncertain and curious about who her father was. Because she was not old enough to fully remember what happened, Heloise represents the intersection of a number of different perspectives on the accident – her mother's, her brother's, and Delia's. As the story progresses, Heloise gets closer to discovering the truth about what happened in France, and the story shows how each bit of information alters her perception of the past.

At the end of the story, the perspective shifts...