Explain the use of verb tense in the story "Taking Care."

Much of the story is told in the present tense, as though
it is happening at the moment. The past tense is introduced only as a means of filling
in the present narration. Such an emphasis on the present might be explained in a number
of ways: (a) The use of the present tense makes the story especially vivid. (b) The
symbolic value of the story is enhanced by being narrated in the present, as though
troubles like those of Jones' are constant and continuous, not elements of the past. (c)
In relationship to the story’s end (“they enter the shining rooms”), the present tense
connects the events to the future; in other words, because Jones’s strength is
established as a present characteristic, it suggests that this same strength will be his
defense against future onslaughts.