Point of View and Theme: A character’s perspective leads to lessons learned.
Point of view=perspective. It’s a specific way of seeing the world.
The cartoonist’s point of view is that…?
People aren’t being smart about how they’re treating Earth.
The picture of a person’s face painted like Earth suggests that…
Earth is like a person. It’s Earth personified!
Children’s hands holding up Earth suggest that…
The Earth’s future is in the hands of our children.
From all these perspectives, we get which theme or message?
One interpretation is this theme: We should take care of Earth.
In literature, authors choose the point of view because it’s how they want the story to be told. First Person=This is the person who experienced the story. Second person=This is telling the story so “you” can imagine what it was like. Third person=This is the person retelling someone else’s story.
Points of View: First person= “I,” “me,” “my.” Second person= “you,” “you’re,” “your.” Third person=“he,” “she,” “they,” “him,” “her,” “his,” hers.”
Which point of view is used in…? “Thank You, Ma’am” “Amigo Brothers” “The War of the Wall”
Third Person Limited: This is from one character’s point of view. “He did not trust the woman not to trust him. And he did not want to be mistrusted now.”
Third Person Omniscient (“all-knowing”): This is from more than one character’s point of view. Antonio: “He tried not to think of Felix, feeling he had succeeded in psyching his mind.” Felix: “Up in the South Bronx, Felix decided to take in a movie in an effort to keep Antonio’s face away from his fists.”
Third Person Objective: This is when we’re given only the facts. Antonio went to the roof of his tenement. He did some dance steps, bobbing and weaving as he threw punches. Felix saw the movie “The Champion” starring Kirk Douglas. It was the third time he’d seen it.
Third Person Subjective This is when there’s a clear point of view. Events are given from an emotionally slanted perspective. The narrator wanted to grab hold of that ladder and shake it. What the painter lady was doing was unfair.
Theme This is the message or lesson learned. We look at how the character faces the conflict or problem. The climax or turning point helps us figure out the theme.
What’s the theme… in “Thank You, Ma’am?” Roger’s conflict was he didn’t know if he could trust Mrs. Jones. In the climactic moment, he decided he could trust her.
What’s the theme… in “Amigo Brothers?” The conflict faced by Antonio and Felix was, will their friendship get in the way of the fight? In the climactic moment, they proved it wouldn’t change anything. They kept fighting well after the bell rang.
What’s the theme… in “The War of the Wall?” The narrator’s problem was with the painter lady taking over his wall. In the climactic moment, people gathered to admire the painting that had become theirs.
Characters in literature give us perspectives on life, which lead to lessons learned.
Tone and Mood: The point of view used by the author will, besides “pointing to the theme,” reveal the author’s attitude or tone.
Tone in “Thank You, Ma’am:” She switched on the light and left the door open. The boy could hear other roomers laughing and talking in the large house. Some of their doors were open, too, so he knew he and the woman were not alone. How are we supposed to feel about Roger?
Tone in “Amigo Brothers” While some youngsters were into street negatives, Antonio and Felix slept, ate, rapped, and dreamt positive. Between them, they had a collection of “Fight” magazines second to none, plus a scrapbook filled with torn tickets to every boxing match they had ever attended and some clippings of their own. What should we think about Antonio and Felix?
Tone in “The War of the Wall” Find evidence in the story to show this tone: The community is a place where people come together and share experiences.
Mood What’s the mood or feeling we get when reading…? “Thank You, Ma’am” “Amigo Brothers” “The War of the Wall”
So, point of view, tone, and mood work together to show a theme! If only everyone on Earth could do the same!