Point of View and T.C.Boyle

Point of View Author = Narrator Quick Definition: The perspective from which a story is told. Notes from Chapter 2 in Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing

Identifying the story’s point of view: Identify the narrator Describe the part he/she plays in the events Describe any limits placed on his/her knowledge

Narrator as Participant (Writing in First Person) Major Character (such as Huck Finn) Minor Character (an observer in the story: Nick Carraway from The Great Gatsby) Other Characteristics to Consider with First Person: Innocent or Naïve narrator: a character who does not fully comprehend significance of events Unreliable Narrator: a character who is not trustworthy (Holden Caulfield, Narrator in Yellow Wall-Paper) Stream of Consciousness: a narrator presents thoughts as they flow in his/her mind – random connections (Narrator in “A Haunted House,” Holden Caulfield, narrator in Portrait [3rd person s-o-c]) Interior monologue: character’s thoughts in an organized fashion

Narrator as Nonparticipant (Writing in Third Person) All-knowing (seeing into the mind of all/some of the characters) Total omniscience: seeing into the mind of all characters Editorial omniscience: contributing opinion Impartial omniscience: does not judge actions or characters Limited (selective) omniscience: seeing events through the eyes of a single character – major or minor   Objective (Fly on the Wall): does not enter the mind of any character, but describes events from the outside – narrator seems to disappear. Reader is left to infer characteristics of the characters

Unusual Narrators Not human (bird, dog, spirit) Second person “you”

Purpose The author’s choice of a particular point of view has an effect on how the events, scenes, characters, etc. are perceived by the reader. Particular points of view may reveal to the reader the irony of a situation or create a certain level of pathos for a character. Point of view also determines what and when a reader learns. Always consider the effect an author’s choice of a particular point of view has on the story and how/when information is revealed.

“Greasy Lake” Question 1 What is the point of view. How does it contribute to the tone that the speaker takes?

Question 2 Boyle has stated that satire “can hold up certain attitudes as being fraudulent, and in doing that suggest that that the opposite might be an appropriate way to behave. And I hope that if my work is socially redemptive, it is in that way” (interview with David Stanton in Poets & Writers, Jan/Feb. 1990). Find examples of the narrator indirectly commenting on his past. And, do you think this piece is “socially redemptive”? Explain.

Question 3 What is the effect of the following similes: Page 127: “Blood was beating in my ears, my hands were shaking, my heart turning over like a dirtbike in the wrong gear.” Page 129: “When I reached out to touch it, it gave like a rubber duck, it gave like flesh.” What other uses of figurative language add to this effect? Find examples.

Question 4 Twice in “Greasy Lake” – in paragraph 2 and 32 – appear the words, “This was nature.” What contrasts do you find between the “nature” of the narrator’s earlier and later views? (from text book) What is the effect of such a contrast?

Question 5 What is the effect of the repeated war imagery? How does it sit in this piece?

Homework for Tuesday Read William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” and answer questions 2 and 8