Point of View

A story is told through the eyes of a character or narrator—this is the point of view.

Point of view

The author makes a deliberate choice in which point of view to use.

The point of view influences the plot. It affects how much information and the type of information that is revealed to the audience.

First Person Point of View

The narrator is a character in the story. Uses first person pronouns (I, we, me,

my, our) We learn the character’s thoughts,

feelings, actions and words. May be unreliable or inaccurate

First Person Example

The truth was, I was sorry not to have started school the year before. In my innocence I had imagined going to school meant certain privileges worthy of all my brothers’ and sister’s complaints. The fact that my lung infection in my fifth and sixth year, mistakenly diagnosed as TB, earned me some reprieve, only made me long for school the more.

Third Person Limited Point of View

Narrator is not a character in the story.

The narrator tells the story from one character’s vantage point—we find out what this one character thinks, feels etc.

Uses third person pronouns (he, him, she, her, they, them)

Third Person example

Hecuba had dreamed that the tiny Paris, who lay so quietly in her arms at this moment, had turned into a burning torch that set all Troy aflame. The old woman, a dream prophet, had then said that a terrible end would come to Troy if the baby were allowed to live.

Omniscient Narrator

The narrator is all-knowing. The author can enter the minds of the

characters and can describe what all characters are thinking and feeling.

Omniscient Example

Colleen gazed longingly out the window, noticing the blue sky and bright sun. She sighed wistfully—a perfect day out. Next to her, Michael fidgeted in his seat feeling restless. He wondered how time could move so slowly. Mrs Howell knew she was fighting a losing battle. She breathed a sigh of relief as the final bell rang signalling the start of summer vacation.

Objective Narrator

Never enters a character’s mind Records only what is seen and heard

(like a hidden camera) Allows inferences to be made by the

readers

Objective Example

It was a record-breaking snow fall. The wind gusts blew violently, swirling the snow around and making visibility nearly impossible. A red car slowly inched out of the driveway and proceeded down the roads, slick with ice. As the car approached the stop sign, the driver slowed down.

Your Turn—what point of view?

For a moment, my mother seemed to hesitate. Her mouth softened and a line deepened between her eyebrows. We stepped in the night and started walking down the mountain in the direction of town, 10 km away.

And the answer is…

First Person Point of View!

What point of view?

So far so good, Jake thought. This girl was bugged by cursing and smoking. He had news for her. He intended to do a whole lot of both. He took a long drag on his cigarette and blew the smoke at her again. She turned away and moved down to the other end of the porch steps.

And the answer is…

Third Person Limited

What point of view?

His mind seasawed miserably to and from between the opposite and irreconcilable facts, and he found himself hating Peri for having had the stupid brilliant idea in the first place.

And the answer is…

Third Person Limited

What point of view?

The house had that neglected air, as if no one had stepped foot inside for years. The paint was peeling, the garden overgrown and a pile of yellowing newspapers blocked the entrance to the front door.

And the answer is…

Objective Point of View

What point of view?

Kate gave Jeff Hedges a withering glance. The top math student in the class, he never missed an opportunity to embarrass Kate or put her down. Only that day he had made a fool of her by deliberately drawing the teacher’s attention to her when he knew she wasn’t listening.

And the answer is…

Omniscient Point of View

What point of view?

The last thing I wanted to do on my summer break was to blow up another school. But there I was Monday morning, the first week of June, sitting in my mom’s car in front of Goode High School on East 81 st. Staring up at the fancy stone archway, I wondered how long it would take me to get kicked out of this place.

And the answer is…

First Person Point of View!

Acknowledgements

Text excerpts taken from: The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin; The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan; Coffee, Snacks, Worms by Karleen Bradford; The Jade Peony by Wayson Choy; Paris and the Golden Apple by Eth Clifford; And the Lucky Winner is by Monica Hughes; The Leaving by Budge Wilson