Yu Tsun's Narrative

Borges switches between past and present tense to alter the story’s order. Most of the events are told in chronological order, but Yu Tsun’s present thoughts and explanations are given throughout his account. In Tsun’s narrative, he communicates his present commentary in two different ways—parenthetical statements or directly stating. Since the first two pages of his statement were lost, the story begins abruptly with Tsun hanging up on Captain Madden in past tense. The account doesn't change until Tsun talks about the hatred and fear he had for Madden. Tsun inserts a parenthetical statement, “(it means nothing to me now)” which is used to explain how he doesn't have fear anymore because he is about to die (20). Not only does this comment