Point of View

Although the story is written in the first person from Euphemia’s perspective, the narrative relies on the comparison of differing viewpoints so as to showcase the tensions and interactions between family members’ personal values and experiences. Through Euphemia’s experiences and observations, the narrative examines how a person’s viewpoint and personal values may affect their desires in life and their personal experiences. For example, Marietta and Beryl were raised in the same household, and yet the identities they form in reaction to their upbringing are highly divergent. Beryl moves to California and pursues career advancement, while Marietta prioritizes her religiosity and the cultivation of a life of humble means.

This divergence of perspective then affects and informs Euphemia’s own shifts and formations of viewpoint, as her process of growing up is highly defined by a rejection of her parents’ viewpoints and an...