Narrator and point of view

The events described in the short story “Cell One” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie are told by a first-person narrator, who is also one of the characters: Nnamabia’s sister. 

The narrator presents the events as she witnesses them: “It took me a moment to take in the room. Even then, I felt that there was a theatrical quality to the way the drawers had been flung open”. The narrator is usually observant and makes accurate guesses about other characters’ behavior and actions. For example, she feels that Nnamabia has organized the fake robbery: “I sat alone in my room upstairs and realized what the queasiness in my gut was: Nnamabia had done it, I knew”. This proves to be true, as Nnamabia finally admits that he was, indeed, the one who stole the jewelry.

The narrator shows what the other characters do, but she does not have insight into their thoug...