Point of View Mrs. Pearsall

Who is telling the story? Remember, someone is always between the reader and the action of the story. That someone is telling the story from his or her own point of view.

POINT OF VIEW A car accident occurs. Two drivers are involved. Witnesses include four sidewalk spectators, a policeman, a man with a video camera who happened to be shooting the scene, and the pilot of a helicopter flying overhead. Here we have nine different points of view and, most likely, nine different descriptions of the accident.

First Person The narrator is actually a character in the story who can reveal their own personal thoughts and feelings. He/she can’t tell us thoughts of other characters. The story is told using “I,” “me,” “my”

Second Person Definition: In second person point of view, the narrator tells the story to another character or the reader using "you," so that the story is being told through the narrator's point of view. Second person is the least commonly used POV in fiction. Examples: Many computer games are told from the second person point of view, as are Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snickett

Third-Person, Objective The narrator is an outsider who can report only what he or she sees and hears. This narrator can’t tell us the thoughts of the characters. The narrator is watching from above.

Third-Person, Limited The narrator is an outsider who sees into the mind of one of the characters. The story is “limited” to the thoughts of one character.

Third Person, Omniscient The narrator is an all-knowing outsider who can enter the minds of more than one of the characters.

What point of view is being used? Now you try! What point of view is being used? If you don’t like bloody endings, then you should not turn the page. Joel felt frustrated with the fact that Tony always got his way.

Bob and Cindy walked to the park. What POV is being used? I could smell the sweet smells from the bakery as I rounded the corner. Bob felt anger toward his mother, but she had no idea that he was upset. Bob and Cindy walked to the park.

How well did you do on POV? Second person Third person, limited First person Third person, omniscient Third person, objective