Point of View It Doesn’t Mean What You Think It Means…

Point of View A manner or style of writing that indicates the narrator’s position in relation to the story, as indicated by the narrator’s ability to express thoughts, feelings, emotions, actions, and descriptions of the characters in the story.

How many points of views are there? Sort of…

First Person Point of View Narrator is a character in the story…possibly the main character, but not necessarily… Keyword: I (not in quotes) Keyword: I (not in quotes)

Narrator can tell every character’s thoughts, feelings, and emotions. Omniscient means “all-knowing.” Third Person Omniscient Point of View

Third Person Limited Point of View Narrator can ONLY tell ONE CHARACTER’S thoughts, feelings, and emotions. That ONE CHARACTER is usually the main character.

Third Person Objective Point of View (Picture Box) Narrator cannot reveal any thoughts, feelings, or emotions…ONLY ACTIONS AND DIALOGUE!! Like watching a video of what’s happening.

An example: Silence, as Archie looked around the room, inspecting each of them in turn, studying them with those cold, intelligent eyes and managing as usual to look superior to them. “What about Fair Day?” Bunting asked. A shadow crossed Archie’s face. Obie thought with glee: Bunting has pushed his luck too far. --from Beyond the Chocolate War by Robert Cormier

An example: “Look, I am nothing like you, okay?” she spit out. “In case you haven’t noticed, you’re fat and I’m not. And you’re wrong about my poem. It was just words. It didn’t mean anything. You got that?” And she slammed out of the bathroom and left me there, stinging from the inside out. I bit my lip to keep back the tears. I turned the faucet on and washed my hands a few times, staring at the sink until I heard Sheila step out into the hall. I glanced up at the mirror before I left. “You’re wrong, Judianne,” I said to the mirror. “They weren’t just words, and you know it.” --from Bronx Masquerade by Nikki Grimes

An example: “Yes, I think I will,” Lily said. She knelt beside the basket. “What did you say his name is? Gabriel? Hello, Gabriel,” she said in a singsong voice. Then she giggled. “Oops,” she whispered. “I think he’s asleep. I guess I’d better be quiet.” Jonas turned to the school assignments on his desk. Some chance of that, he thought. Lily was never quiet… He turned toward Lily and noticed to his satisfaction that her ribbons were, as usual, undone and dangling. There would be an announcement like that quite soon, he felt certain, and it would be directed mainly at Lily, though her name, of course, would not be mentioned. Everyone would know. --from The Giver by Lois Lowry

An example: Hallie stared at the notebook Jay had dropped. Then she held it close. She was in love.

An example: Jean tugged at her collar and sleeves. She repeatedly ran her fingers through her hair, checked her watch, and glanced at the door every thirty seconds.

An example: The parents and their six daughters sat around the dinner table in silence. Beverly pushed the food around on her plate but didn't appear to be eating any of it. Karen Beth, her mouth drawn into a thin line, didn't even pretend to eat. Mr. Anderson cleared his throat. "We all know where Furface had her kittens. And we all know how she got into the closet to make Karen Beth's Christmas dress a bed for seven cats."

An example: Nobody seemed to be eating much; all eight members of the family sat looking serious. Beverly, the most serious of all, wondered for the hundredth time how she could have been foolish enough to let a cat due to have kittens at any moment into the bedroom she shared with Karen Beth, her sister. She should have known, she continued to scold herself silently, that Furface would make a nest in the closet -- and what would make a better nest than Karen's red velvet dress. Karen Beth couldn't have cared less about the velvet dress. It could be a permanent nest as far as she was concerned. She and Bulldog Hershbine had broken up that morning before English class; she'd have no need for a party dress this Christmas. Mr. Anderson struggled to keep his face from betraying his true feelings. Although the family myth was that she belonged to the girls, Furface was really his cat, and everybody knew it. Privately he thought there was no prettier picture than the long-haired white cat and six varicolored kittens lying against the red velvet.