Transcript What Do You Need to Know About Narrator and Voice? Feature Menu First-Person Narrator Omniscient Narrator Third-Person Limited Narrator Voice Your Turn.

What Do You Need to Know
About Narrator and Voice?
Feature Menu
First-Person Narrator
Omniscient Narrator
Third-Person Limited Narrator
Voice
Your Turn
What Do You Need to Know
About Narrator and Voice?
When you hear a new song by a favorite group or
singer, how do you know who the performer is?
Is there something
recognizable about the
phrasing, accents, word
choice, and inflections
the singer uses?
Successful performers
have distinctive voices.
What Do You Need to Know
About Narrator and Voice?
And so do narrators—the
people who tell stories from
different points of view.
Every narrator has a
point of view—the
position of the narrator in
relation to the events and
characters in the story.
First-Person Narrator
A first-person narrator
• is a character in the story
• uses the first-person
pronoun—I—to tell the
story
• can only describe his or
her own experiences
What we know about the story is limited to what
the first-person narrator knows, perceives, and
describes.
First-Person Narrator
Just as you do with some “real” people, you have
to decide if the first-person narrator is reliable.
• Can you trust the
narrator’s version of
events?
• Can you believe the
narrator’s statements
about other characters?
• Is the narrator telling the
truth?
Ask yourself why a narrator might not be reliable.
First-Person Narrator
Something was wrong with Mama’s voice after she got off
the phone. It was tiny and sounded far away, but she was
right here at our table. I thought maybe she had a bad
throat. My voice goes all funny with a bad throat.
So I said the same thing to her she always says to me.
“Mama, rinse with some salt water and go to bed. You’ll
be better tomorrow.”
Mama put her head on her arms and cried hard.
• What can you infer that the narrator
does not tell you directly?
• Why might the narrator not
understand what has happened?
Omniscient Narrator
An omniscient narrator
• is not a character in the
story and does not
participate in the events
of the plot
• uses third-person
pronouns—he, she, they—
to tell the story
• knows everything that is
going on in the story
Omniscient means “all-knowing.”
Omniscient Narrator
The omniscient narrator can reveal
thoughts,
feelings,
motives,
and attitudes
of every character in the story.
Omniscient Narrator
How does this version of events differ from the
passage you read earlier?
When the phone rang, Carol wiped her hands and flung
the dish towel over her shoulder. Who in the world? she
wondered. The clock said 6:15 a.m.—almost time to get
Maddy out of bed and ready for school.
Finally she managed a weak “Thank you for calling” and
put the receiver down. Thank you? Thank you for what?
Thank you for turning the world upside down?
Maddy was standing by the table, patting her back. “You’ll
be better tomorrow, Mama.”
Right. Fat chance. Her head sank onto her arms.
Third-Person Limited Narrator
The third-person limited narrator has some
things in common with both the omniscient and
first-person points of view.
The third-person limited narrator
• uses third-person
pronouns—he, she, they—
to tell the story
like an omniscient
narrator
• focuses on the experiences
of only one character
like a first-person
narrator
Third-Person Limited Narrator
If you are not sure whether the narrator is
omniscient or third-person limited, ask
yourself:
Does the narrator let me
see the thoughts and
feelings of more than
one character?
Or does the narrator
let me see the
thoughts and feelings
of only one character?
Third-Person Limited Narrator
In this passage, the
narrator tells you the
thoughts and feelings
of both characters.
The point of view is
omniscient.
Nick slid the glass across the
counter. “Here’s your order,”
he said, looking at the girl
who held out her hand for
the change. Miriam, he
thought, trying to place her.
English class. Last year,
maybe?
Miriam thought she could
feel a little—well, a sort of
electric spark as she took the
change from him. She knew
it was silly, but—was there
something between them?
Third-Person Limited Narrator
Nick slid the glass across
the counter. “Here’s your
order,” he said, looking at
the next person in line,
“and your change.”
Miriam thought she could
feel a little—well, a sort of
electric spark as she took
the change from him. She
knew it was silly, but—was
there something between
them?
Here, the narrator
tells you what Nick
says and does, but
not what he thinks or
feels.
The narrator tells you
what Miriam thinks
and feels.
The point of view is
third-person limited.
Narrator
Quick Check
Cupping his hands around his mouth,
he shouted as loud as he could:
“Hellooooo!” His voice bounced from
canyon wall to cliff, echoing and
repeating “Hellooooo!” But it was only
his voice; as much as he wanted it to
be an answering voice, it was only his
voice.
He was talking out loud to himself,
maybe just to hear the sound of a
voice. “I have to find someplace for
the night. They’ll look for me
tomorrow. I know they will.”
What clues help
you know what
kind of narrator is
telling this story?
Narrator
Quick Check
Cupping his hands around his mouth,
he shouted as loud as he could:
“Hellooooo!” His voice bounced from
canyon wall to cliff, echoing and
repeating “Hellooooo!” But it was only
his voice; as much as he wanted it to
be an answering voice, it was only his
voice.
He was talking out loud to himself,
maybe just to hear the sound of a
voice. “I have to find someplace for
the night. They’ll look for me
tomorrow. I know they will.”
What is the point
of view of this
story so far?
Narrator
Quick Check
Cupping his hands around his mouth,
he shouted as loud as he could:
“Hellooooo!” His voice bounced from
canyon wall to cliff, echoing and
repeating “Hellooooo!” But it was only
his voice; as much as he wanted it to
be an answering voice, it was only his
voice.
He was talking out loud to himself,
maybe just to hear the sound of a
voice. “I have to find someplace for
the night. They’ll look for me
tomorrow. I know they will.”
If this story did
not have a thirdperson limited
narrator, what
other kind would
it have? How
would you know?
[End of Section]
Voice
Voice is a writer’s distinctive use of language.
No two writers have exactly
the same voice, just as no
two singers have the same
singing voice.
Factors that shape a writer’s
voice include
diction
tone
sentence structure
Voice
Diction is the writer’s choice of words.
These two passages describe the same events,
but the choice of words is very different.
When the sun finally set,
the darkness was
complete. Even the low far
hills could not be seen.
The desert, quiet during
the hot day, became
suddenly noisy.
The sun set finally,
abruptly, the low far hills
merging into the deep
blackness. The desert, so
soundless in the harsh
heat, erupted into a
symphony of night sounds.
Voice
Tone is the writer’s attitude toward the subject,
the characters, or the audience.
Everyone said he was a bitter,
cranky old man. Everyone was
right. We all knew the stories
about kids who got too near his
house. He never out and out hurt
anybody, but he sure scared the
daylights out of them. First you’d
hear the dogs barking, then the
slap of the screen door. Then the
giant beam of his flashlight would
sweep across the yard.
What is the
writer’s attitude
toward this
character?
Voice
Look at the writer’s sentence structure as you
read.
Are the sentences short or long?
Are the sentences simple, or do they
contain a lot of clauses?
Does the writer vary sentence structures?
Do different characters speak in
different kinds of sentences?
Voice
Quick Check
I put everything into the backpack
except the sandwich. I put the
sandwich in my pocket. In my pocket I
also put two more batteries. And some
quarters. I closed the door slowly but
it still squeaked, and so did the first
step on the porch, like it always does.
But there wasn’t anybody around to
hear it anyway.
What observations
can you make
about the writer’s
voice?
Voice
Quick Check
I put everything into the backpack
except the sandwich. I put the
sandwich in my pocket. In my pocket I
also put two more batteries. And some
quarters. I closed the door slowly but
it still squeaked, and so did the first
step on the porch, like it always does.
But there wasn’t anybody around to
hear it anyway.
What does the
writer’s voice tell
you about the
narrator?
[End of Section]
Tell a Story
Your Turn
Rewrite the following passage with an omniscient
narrator. Do you learn anything new about the
characters?
“Do you have history right after lunch?” Martin was bent
over, tying his shoe. It sounded like a casual question, but I
know my brother—he never makes casual conversation.
“Right. Why?”
“No reason. Just asking. Um, is Tanya in there?”
I knew it! Since when did he care if Tanya was in my
history class? He treated Tanya just like he treated all my
friends—like nobody, like they weren’t there at all.
[End of Section]
The End