Narrator's Persona

The story’s narrator has a significant impact on how we perceive the story’s characters. Describe the persona of the narrator in “Evacuation Order No. 19.” Analyze the effect of the narrator on readers. Use details from the story to explain your answer.

The persona of the narrator of the short story "Evacuation Order No. 19" can be described as reserved, punctual, informative, and formal. The narrator does not betray bias or feeling towards the subject and story at hand; the author of the story tries her best to keep the narrator formal and, as a result, neutral. Feelings of pain and discontent are not betrayed when it is revealed that the sign had ordered Mrs. Hiyashi to leave; emotional trauma or sadness is not revealed when White Dog is killed. The author utilizes a third-person limited point of view focusing primarily on Mrs. Hiyashi; as a result, not much emotion of the characters is revealed for the most part except for her feelings. However, because the narrator is perspective and punctual, he or she still betrays clues as to what the characters are feeling and what feelings the narrator (or the author, through the narrator) may be possessing. For instance, when White Dog is killed by Mrs. Hiyashi, it is says that she exhaled a large breath of air. By giving this minute detail, we can infer her true feelings about the mercy kill. Going along these lines, a large influence the narrator has on the readers is that he or she does not so easily release information pertaining to the characters and the story.This is where the reserved characteristic of the narrator comes in; because the narrator is reserved, only some details are spoken of that may hint at a certain character trait, but does not give it away completely. This is also important because it also allows the narrator to be unbiased for or against the issue of the internment order. An example of this is when the narrator briefly mentions that Mrs. Hiyashi does not always follow the rules, but in this case she does; and also when the son attempts to stuff his luggage with belongings, hinting at the boy's childlike and innocent personality.

This gives a unique experience for the reader. The reader is left in quiet confusion, subtle horror, and slow realization as the story progresses, and more details about the characters and the entire conflict of the story are slowly revealed. The narrator's punctuality allows for a clear rendition of events, but in contrast his/her limited point of view also gives us a limited perspective of the story. However, through these subtle means of communication through the narrator, you can feel the author's discontent towards the issue of Japanese internment.

This leaves a good reader in contemplation of the story; its characters and its course of events.