The story is told exclusively from the viewpoint of Gimpel and is, therefore, an example of first-person narration. Because readers are only given access to Gimpel's thoughts and feelings and not those of the villagers who frequently make fun of him, they are uncertain how reliable Gimpel's account is and are left to wonder if he is truly a fool. Singer also uses a simple storytelling technique in "Gimpel the Fool"; he relates the events of the story sequentially without much explanation and presents the characters without in-depth description.