Journal #2 Narration

Narration is more than just point of view!

In class we have asked:

What is the point of view? (1st, 2nd, 3rd person)

Is our narrator objective or subjective? (Can we “trust” the narrator? Note: This answer may be different if you are

reading non-fiction!)

Are we privy to the inside thoughts of any of the characters? (omniscient, limited omniscient, or limited)

From whose perspective is the story being told? (from outside or from the perspective of one of the characters?)

Copy these questions – you will also need them for other assignments that are coming.

How Do We Answer Those Questions?

By asking each question separately. By reading carefully By seeking evidence in the text to support our

answer. By checking that that we don’t find

contradictory evidence (A.B – show us the beginning of A Catcher in the Rye)

Look at “Sammy Sosa” in Break Away (p.41)

Sammy burst into the kitchen, grinning from ear to ear. His mother was at the stove, fanning herself to keep cool in the muggy heat. He glanced around at his six brothers and sisters crammed into a single room and thought, I hate this place. The tin roof, the dirt floor, the smell of garbage… for years he had dreamed of buying his family a nice, big, clean house to live in. And three huge meals a day to fill their bellies.

“Mama,” he said quietly, holding a piece of paper out to her, “we’re millionaires.” She took the cheque from his hand and stared at it for the longest time, as tears began streaming down her face. For the Sosa family, it might as well have been a million dollars. The cheque was for over three thousand dollars – more than Sammy’s mother could earn in years of working as a maid. Maybe God has finally heard my prayers, she thought. Maybe indeed. Her son, Sammy Sosa, had just signed his first pro ball contract… and he was just 16 years old!

Journal #2 – Narration (copy into your journal) 1. Define narration in your own words, be sure to include all the

parts narration involves.2. Copy a relevant passage from your book from which you can

answer the questions about narration. (remember …)

3. Answer the 4 questions about narration found on slide 2.4. For each question, give a relevant quote from your story

showing how you know (these can be short and may or may not come from the passage)

5. Try to see the story in a different way – write a paragraph explaining how one event in your novel would look from a different character’s perspective OR how the event might look for a character whose thoughts and feelings you are not privy to. Show me that you can put yourself in the shoes of that character and visualize what they may be experiencing.

DUE: Friday Oct. 5