Narrator

The unnamed first person narrator is the main character of the short story. In the narrative present, the narrator is a middle-aged man. He is still living in the remote French village where he grew up and working with his father André Paulhan at their family tire shop. André opened the shop in 1925, the year the narrator was born and the narrator began “helping [him] as soon as [he] could stand upright” (396). Throughout the years following, the narrator became integral to the business. He not only learned the trade but devoted himself to the work and tried to uphold “the highest standards” (396). When the narrator was a teenager, WWII broke out. At first, the narrator’s world seemed unaffected by the conflict. However, when German military vehicles began tearing down their rural road, the narrator could no longer ignore the mounting violence in his hometown. Over time, more...