Point of View

How Not to Drown in a Glass of Water is written from the first person point of view of the main character Cara Romero. Cara’s distinct point of view is dictated by the narrative structure. The entirety of her narration is inspired by her 12 sessions with her career counselor Lissette. She is, therefore, employing the first person direct address. This means that Cara is speaking directly to Lissette. Her speech patterns are thus indicative of this intimate conversational setting. The reader might refer to the opening lines of “Session One” for a better understanding of this formal dynamic: “My name is Cara Romero, and I came to this country because my husband wanted to kill me. Don’t look so shocked. You’re the one who asked me to say something about myself” (3). In the latter two lines of this passage, Cara is gesturing...