Transcript Point of View

Analyzing Point of View
•What are the types of POV (or
narrative perspective)?
•Why do authors select a particular POV
for their story?
Objective
 Common Core Standards
 RL 6: Analyze how differences in the points of view of the characters and
the audience create effects such as suspense or humor.
 RL 1: Cite textual evidence
 By the end of the lesson, each student will be able to identify the
point of view of the story, analyze, and evaluate this perspective in a
reading response journal entry that will be evaluated using a
standards-based rubric.
Types of Point of View
Objective Point of View
With the objective point of view, the writer tells what happens without stating more than can be inferred from the
story's action and dialogue. The narrator never discloses anything about what the characters think or feel, remaining a
detached observer.
Third Person Point of View
Here the narrator does not participate in the action of the story as one of the characters, but lets us know exactly how
the characters feel. We learn about the characters through this outside voice.
First Person Point of View
In the first person point of view, the narrator does participate in the action of the story. When reading stories in the first
person, we need to realize that what the narrator is recounting might not be the objective truth. We should question the
trustworthiness of the accounting.
Omniscient and Limited Points of View
A narrator who knows everything about all the characters is all knowing, or omniscient.
A narrator whose knowledge is limited to one character, either major or minor, has a limited omniscient point of view.
As you read a piece of fiction think about these things:
How does the point of view affect your responses to the characters? How is your response influenced by how much the
narrator knows and how objective he or she is? First person narrators are not always trustworthy. It is up to you to
determine what is the truth and what is not.
Thinking Levels
First person narrator:
 Story is told from the inside; narrator is a participant in
the action
 Narrator is often the protagonist or minor character; we
see only what he/she sees, in the way that he/she sees it.
 Advantage: first person narrator has immediacy (you
experience events with the character) and a sense of life.
 Disadvantage: the author (and reader) may be frustrated
in that he/she can only include things that the narrator
would be expected to know; also, we are locked within the
mind of the narrator.
Third person narrator:
 Usually a nameless narrator who can be identified with the author.
 Omniscient narrator: godlike narrator; he/she can enter character's
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minds and know everything that is going on, past, present, and future.
Advantage: very natural technique; author is, after all, omniscient
regarding his work.
Disadvantage: unrealistic; narrator knows and tells all; is truly a
convention of literature
Limited Narrator: third person narration that is limited to the point of
view of one character in the novel; may be a protagonist or a minor
character.
Objective Narrator: limited narrative, like a drama; narrator can only
describe words and actions that can be seen objectively and cannot get
into character's thoughts
 Combination of narrative techniques is possible in a novel.
 Tense of narration is important; action narrated in the
present can be more dramatic than past tense narration.
Ask Yourself:
Who's telling the story?
a first-person narrator (I)?
a second-person narrator (you)?
a third-person narrator (character’s
name, he, she, etc.)?
Ask Yourself:
 Is the narrator omniscient (all-knowing) or limited?
 What does the narrator know, and how does she
know it?
 What does she tell the reader? How does she tell
it? Why does she tell it?
 What might she be holding back, denying, or
repressing?
 Why?
Ask Yourself:
 What is the narrator's tone (attitude)? her agenda? Is she reliable?
 How does the point of view of the narrator affect how we view the
characters? their struggles?
 Why is the story told from a particular point of view?
 How does the point of view affect the meaning and theme of the
story?
 How does it affect our interpretation of the story?
 How does the point of view affect the meaning and theme of the
story?
 How does it affect our interpretation of the story?
Point of View Journal Example
Text
“While Sam Carr smiled and stroked
the side of his face very delicately with
the tips of his fingers, Alfred began to
feel that familiar terror growing in him
that had been in him every time he had
got into such trouble” (Callaghan, 1).
Response
This passage demonstrates the third-person limited
point of view that is used in the story. The story is
told by an outside narrator who knows only the
thoughts and feelings of Alfred. We only learn about
Sam Carr through his actions, the things they say,
and the thoughts that Alfred has about him. Although
we don’t see into Sam’s thoughts, in this passage, he
is smiling and stroking his face, which would suggest
that he is quite pleased that he has caught Alfred in
the act and he is looking forward to seeing what kind
of punishment awaits. Sam’s character is developed
indirectly, while Alfred’s character is developed both
indirectly and directly (shown here). This method is
effective because it allows us to see and understand
first-hand how Alfred changes from the beginning of
the story when he is only worried about getting into
trouble, to the end of the story, when he is worried
about how his poor choices have affected his
mother’s health and well-being.
Point of View Journal Example
Text
“Oh please, don’t say anything, Victor pleaded
with his eyes. I’ll wash your car, mow your
lawn, walk your dog--anything! I'll be
Your best student, and I’ll clean your
erasers after school. Mr. Bueller
shuffled through the papers on his
desk, He smiled and hummed as he
sat down to work. He remembered
his college years when he dated a
girlfriend in borrowed cars. She
thought he was rich because each time he
picked her up he had a different car. It was
fun until he had spent all his money on her
and had to write home to his parents because
he was broke” (Soto, 7).
Response
This passage demonstrates the third-person omniscient
point of view of the story. The narrator knows the
thoughts and feelings of Victor, who is worried that Mr.
Bueller will say something in front of Teresa about his
terrible attempt at pretending to know French. We
also know the feelings of Mr. Bueller, who is
sympathetic to what Victor is going through. This
point of view is effective because even though the focus
of the story is Victor, this scene also tells us a lot about
Mr. Bueller. The reader, and Victor discover that he is a
pretty good guy who understands what his students are
going through. So while 7th grade can seem so scary,
Victor learns that it isn’t all bad.