Point of View

Each of the stories collected in Afterparties is written from a distinct point of view. "Three Women of Chuck's Donuts" is written from a third person free indirect point of view. This third person narrator shifts between Sothy, Tevy, and Kayley's vantage points throughout the story. Then, in the story's final paragraph, the women's perspectives align. "The three women of Chuck's Donuts," the narrator says, "have a variation of the same thought . . . Yes they think, we know this man. We've carried him our whole lives" (29). In this way, the narrator encapsulates both the women's individual and collective experiences. By way of contrast, "Superking Son Scores Again," is written from the first person plural point of view of the boys on the badminton team. Though the narrator names different members on the team, they never identify themselves as a specific individual. In this way, the narrator...