How do I better handle my nameless main character when trying to retain mystery?

Question

I have written a short story, and the main character is referred to as "he" right the way through - the idea being that this character is very guarded and mysterious.My plan was to not reveal the name of the character because that would be too personal and would allow the reader to "get to know" the character, which is undesirable when trying to maintain an aura of mystery.However, I'm not sure I'm pulling it off as well as I'd like to - I feel I'm overusing the word "he" and I'm stuck for ways to refer to "himself." I've attached a small extract for you to perhaps see what I mean.> The alarm on his watch beeped.> His eyes crept open as he was slowly roused from his light slumber, he knew he had work to do, and now he felt ready to start. > His job was very stressful and had little rewards, but he did as he was told; just a pawn a very large game of chess. It was however, not a large company, which is why a lot of the stress landed on him and it's terribly difficult working for a boss you've never seen nor heard. Strange as the concept was, he and his boss kept in touch by e-mail and text messages. It wasn't ideal, but it was definitely necessary; being that his field of work was a slightly less than reputable one. He only knew his boss by one name, and he knew it was an alias.Can anyone offer any assistance, perhaps give me some ideas on how to reword some sentences, help that I may then be able to apply to the rest of the short story?

Answer 1

I would suggest changing some of the uses of "he" into other words or phrases to get the same idea across. If the character could still remain mysterious with a name, you could try giving him a name and/or revealing the same sooner than planned.

Answer 2

Assuming that you've described this character to some extent (physicality, mentality, etc), use interesting descriptors for him instead of a name or 'he'- the tortured soul, the drowsy worker, the slender outcast. Depending on the narrative voice you're using, you can also use terms like, 'the man /our protagonist /the hero/the unknown individual/ the unsub (unidentified subject)' etc.