Point of View

Trash begins with two introductions by Allison herself. Speaking in a first-person point of view, Allison discusses her own biography and the features of her own life that made her start writing these stories. She explains how her own biography and perspective are close to that of the narrators of these stories, but reminds the reader that these stories are not autobiographical. In the 2002 re-printing of the collection, Allison notes that she is removed from the situation -- she lived in California at the time -- but she still claimed the word "trash."

Most of the stories in the collection are told in the first-person point of view. Most of the narrators are similar to Allison herself. Every first-person narrator is a woman, if their sexual orientations are mentioned, they are lesbians. All of the narrators come from working class -- and generally abusive --...