POINT OF VIEW

What is a point of view? Point of view focuses on who: Who is telling the story? Who is speaking? Point of View: the type of narrator you choose to tell the story. A point of view is the perspective an author uses to give a glimpse into the world he’s created.

Why is this important? The point of view an author chooses can determine how the reader understands and participates in the story. It can be used to express the feelings, thoughts, motivations, and experiences of one or many.

First Person V80-1800 II

Peter narrating his own life

First person This is when the narrator uses the pronouns I, me, myself, or mine to relate a story. In this point of view, the readers experience the world vicariously through the narrator. Advantage: you can immediately connect with the reader Disadvantage: the author is limited to writing from one perspective.

The protagonist This is the main character. He or she is who the entire story is about. The reader is either inside of the protagonist’s head and privy to his thoughts, or the protagonist relays the story in letters, journal entries, or through conversational devices.

Fresh prince of bel Air

Another Major or Minor Character This narrator acts as a character writhing the story but is not the protagonist of the story. This type of narrator will not know what the protagonist is thinking, unless the protagonist choose to share his thoughts.

THE OBSERVER The type of narrator witnesses the story but has limited or no participation in the story. The first person observer is closely related to third person limited, but chooses to add personal pronouns (I, me, myself) to inject commentary.

The unreliable narrator The type of narrator cannot be trusted to accurately convey the story. He or she is skewed.

sECOND Person

Emperors new groove

Second Person When a narrator uses the pronoun “you” to drive the story, you are reading a second person point of view. Second person point of view is not as popular as first and third person. It can be tricky to execute it without sounding gimmicky, but it can be done. Advantage: you bring the reader into the action immediately. They are completely immersed in the world of the story from the first page. Disadvantage: it is the hardest point of view to do effectively.

tHIRD Person V80-1800 II

The cheese touch

Third person When the narrator uses the pronouns he, she, they, or it it is third person. Unlike in first and second points of view, in third person the narrator is not a character within the story. Third person point of view is perhaps the most commonly used perspective. It can give the author more flexibility than the other two perspectives. Advantage: the author can write from a broader perspective Disadvantage: it can be difficult to establish connection with the reader

Third person limited This point of view is limited to one character. The narrator only experience what this one character experiences. This character is generally the protagonist of the story. This is similar to first person because the story is confined to the knowledge, perspective, and experience of only one character.

Third person multiple This point of view allows the narrator to follow multiple characters within the story. The narrator can switch between characters and relate from their perspective. It is still limited because the narrator does not know about everything, only the characters he follows.

Storytime with Thomas Sanders

Third person omniscient This is when the narrator knows everything about everyone in the story. This narrator can provide accurate and insightful commentary because he knows how everything is connected.

hercules

Perspective V80-1800 II

Point of view vs. perspective Point of View focuses on the type of narrator used to tell the story Perspective focuses on how this narrator perceives what’s happening within the story. You can use perspective in all points of view to help define your narrator’s attitude and personality. The character’s perspective affects how he feels about certain experiences or other characters.