Point of View

The short story is written from Zikora's first-person point of view. By writing the narrative from this perspective, the author grants the reader access to each of Zikora's most intimate thoughts and feelings. Though Zikora is not always open or honest with those closest to her, her first-person vantage reveals these vulnerable sentiments. For example, on the first page of the story, while in labor, though Zikora says she wants to say "No shit" to her mother, she does not, because her mother does not "understand colloquial Americanisms" (2). So despite the fact that Zikora resists verbalizing this snarky comment to her mother, the reader knows what she is thinking by way of her first person perspective. Similarly, throughout the story, Zikora's narrative often veers into a litany of questions. She never vocalizes these thoughts to others, they appear on the page in her most authentic...