Point of View

The story is told by a limited third person narrator. This means that the narrator does not possess insight into what all the characters are thinking; he can see into the minds of only Ebarito and Alma, and he tells the story from their alternating points of view. The other characters, Wilson, Paco, and Tito, are known only by their words, actions, and what others say and feel about them. Their own thoughts are not revealed.

The fact that Ebarito is the main viewpoint character helps to establish the idea that it is he who is the odd man out in the group of four. The tension in the story builds through his thoughts and feelings, which reveal his growing frustration and resentment. It is Ebarito's state of mind, irritated and uneasy from the beginning, that eventually produces the explosion that propels the story to its...