Point of View

“The Pond” is written from the first-person perspective of a speaker who frequents a local pond over the years. Despite his matter-of-fact tone, the speaker conveys the profound bond that he feels with this place and its inhabitants. He closely watches the carp over the years, witnessing their growth and how they behave differently according to the season. This affinity (conveyed through minute details and observations) does not stem from sentimentalism. Instead, the speaker maintains a straightforward and factual tone even when describing the death of the carp. The fact that the speaker repeatedly goes to this pond and contemplates his reflection in relation to other life portrays him as someone with a rich inner life rooted in reality.

When a drought alters the speaker’s capacity for imagination and connection, he echoes a warning issued earlier by his community. Namely, that a child could...