1. Point of View/Theme

2. Point of View
The perspective in which a story is told. There are generally three types of point of view:
1st person
3rd person limited
3rd person omniscient

3. The narrator participates in the action of the story.
1st Person
The narrator participates in the action of the story.
When reading stories in the first person, we need to always question the trustworthiness of the narrator.

4. 3rd Person Limited
A narrator whose knowledge is limited to one character, either major or minor.
Use of “he” or “she”

5. “God-like” perspective Use of “he” or “she”
3rd Person Omniscient
A narrator who knows everything about all the characters (even thoughts) and is all knowing.
“God-like” perspective
Use of “he” or “she”

6. What is the POV in “The Story of an Hour”? How do you know?
How does the POV affect the story as a whole?
Think: What would happen if this story were from a different POV or told by someone else in the story?

7. The central idea(s) of a piece of writing.
Theme
The central idea(s) of a piece of writing.
Theme is not one word! It is a complete thought about that one word.

8. Hint: Try to peel back the layers of the story and find what the author is trying to tell us. He/she wrote the piece for a reason; what is it?
Ex. Courage can be the topic or subject of a piece of writing, but the statement, “It takes a great deal of courage to stand up against one’s peers,” is a theme.

9. What is/are the theme(s) in “The Story of an Hour”?
What is Kate Chopin trying to tell her reader?