Point of View

Point of View

1. 1st Person

   • First Person Narrator: Definition. First person narrative is a point of view (who is telling a story) where the story is narrated by one character at a time. This character may be speaking about him or herself or sharing events that he or she is experiencing.
   • “It was times like these when I thought my father, who hated guns and had never been to any wars, was the bravest man who ever lived.” - To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee Read

2. 3rd Person

   • 3rd Person Limited
     • Definition of Third Person Limited. In third person limited the narrator only knows the thoughts and feelings of one character. All characters are described using pronouns, such as 'they', 'he', and 'she'. But, one character is closely followed throughout the story, and it is typically a main character.
     • 'Harry had taken up his place at wizard school, where he and his scar were famous … but now the school year was over, and he was back with the Dursleys for the summer, back to being treated like a dog that had rolled in something smelly. The Dursleys hadn't even remembered that today happened to be Harry's twelfth birthday. Of course, his hopes hadn't been high… .'
   • 3rd Person Objective
     • Image result for 3rd person objective definition The third-person objective employs a narrator who tells a story without describing any character's thoughts, opinions, or feelings; instead, it gives an objective, unbiased point of view. Often the narrator is self-dehumanized in order to make the narrative more neutral.
     • The novels Middlemarch by George Eliot and Charlotte's Web by E.B. White employ the third-person-omniscient point of view.
   • 3rd Person Omnicent
     • Third person omniscient is a method of storytelling in which the narrator knows the thoughts and feelings of all of the characters in the story, as opposed to third person limited, which adheres closely to one character's perspective.
     • In classic literature, a good example of third person omniscient is found in Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter. In this novel, the story is told from several different characters' points-of-view. In addition, the narrator knows the thoughts, actions, and feelings of every character.