Teen IdolBy Meg Cabot

I witnessed the kidnapping of Betty Ann Mulvaney. Well, me and the twenty-three other people in first period Latin class at Clayton High School (student population 1,200).

Unlike everybody else, however, I actually did something to try and stop it. Well, sort of. I went, “Kurt, what are you doing?”

Kurt just rolled his eyes. He was all, “Relax, Jen. It’s a joke, okay?”

Narrative Perspective

Author’s Point of View

What Is Point of View?

• Point of view is the vantage point from which a writer tells a story. – A writer tells a story through the voice of a

narrator. A narrator may be an outside observer or a character in the story.

– Everything you learn about the characters, events, and places in a story depends on the narrator’s point of view.

Dialogue and Narration

• Dialogue = when characters speak.

• Narration = when the narrator speaks.

• “Quotation marks” separate narration from dialogue.

Example

“Help” my cousin Jack said. 1 2

Identifying Narrative Perspective

It's about the narrator (who tells the story)

We're not looking at dialogue.

We don't care what characters say.

Only the narrator's voice matters.

Pronoun Case

First-Person I, me, my, mine, we, us, ours,

Second-Person you, your

Third-Person he, she, her, they, them

(also character's names)

We are trying to figure out the narrator's view point on the story.

Perspectives and Signal Words

Secret

“I am in the room”

I = 1st Person

“You come in the room.”

You = 2nd Person

“Then he or she came in the room.”

He or She = 3rd Person

First-Person Point of View

– In the first-person point of view, the narrator is a character in the story and tells the story using the first-person pronoun I.

– The first-person narrator• participates in the action of the story• can tell us only what he or she is feeling, thinking,

or observing• may or may not be objective, honest, or perceptive

about what’s going in the story

First-Person Narration

The narrator is involved in the story.

The Story

CharactersI or We

theNarrator

First-Person

Narrator is a part of the story (character).

Often uses I or we.

Example

I went home. Tim came over. I couldn't play.

Example: First –Person Point of View Paragraph on Camping

First of all, I like comfort when I’m camping. My GMC motor home, with its completely equipped kitchen, shower stall, toilet, double bed, and color television, resembles a mobile motel room. I can sleep on a real mattress, clean sheets, and fluffy pillows. Next to my bed are devices that make me feel at home: a radio, an alarm clock, and a TV remote-control unit. Unlike the poor campers huddled in tents, I don’t have to worry about cold, rain, heat, or annoying insects. After a hot shower, I can slide into my pajamas, sit comfortably on my down-filled quilt, and read the latest best-seller while a thunderstorm booms outside.

Second-Person

Usually for instructions

Uses “You”; from “your” perspective.

Examples

First, gather your materials. Add 1 cup sugar to flour.

Second-Person Narration

The reader’s actions are narrated.

The Story

Characters(if any)

Youthe

Reader

Second-Person tells “your” story.

Example

You stayed up late last night and now you’re tired, but you need to pass this class.

From whose perspective is the story told?

In Second-Person the perspective of “you” is narrated.

It is mainly used for instruction or directions.

Third-Person Approach

• This approach is the most common point of view in academic writing.

• In the third-person, the writer includes no direct references to the reader (you) or the self (I, me). It derives its name from its stance—that of an outsider or third-person observing and reporting on matters of public rather than private importance.

• This approach emphasizes the subject and draws on information that the writer has acquired through observation, thinking, or reading. It is appropriate in formal academic and professional writing.

Narrator

Third-Person Narration

The narrator is outside of the story.

The Story

Characters“He”“She”“They”

Third-Person

• Narrator usually isn’t involved.

• Tells other's stories.

• Lots of “He,” “She,” & character names.

Three Types of Third-Person Narration

Does the narrator tell…

Thoughts and Feelings of Characters?

Omniscient Point of View

– In the omniscient point of view, the narrator plays no part in the story but can tell us what all the characters are thinking and feeling as well as what is happening in other places.

– The omniscient narrator• can tell us as much or as little as the writer permits• may tell us what all—or only some—of the

characters are thinking, feeling, and observing• may comment on the story’s meaning, characters,

or events

Third-Person Omniscient

Narrator is all knowing.Narrator tells thoughts and feelings of

more than one character.

Omni = All Scient = Knowing

ExampleTim was mad at Shay. He blamed her. Shay knew Tim would be mad, but she wanted to live her life.

Omniscient Point of View

• Just outside the auditorium entrance, students milled about nervously and waited to be called in for the audition. A few had paired off to practice their lines together, but most stood or sat alone engaged in their own calming rituals. Ruth stood in the corner and talked to the wall in a low voice. She would be graduating this year, and she desperately wanted to be Juliet. She was trying to get just the right tone of voice for the balcony scene. Gary, dressed in all black, paced back and forth in front of the mirror- lined wall and periodically glanced at his reflection and smoothed his dark hair. He was auditioning for Mercutio, but he was worried that Mr. Glover would think he was too much of a “comedic” actor to give him a more serious role. Janis sat with her back against the row of lockers, her knees tucked up close to her body, and stared at the floor as she recited the lines in her head. She didn’t really care what part she got as long as she had a speaking role. She had been an extra in the last two productions and was ready for more responsibility.

Third-Person-Limited Point of View

– In the third-person-limited point of view, the narrator plays no part in the story but zooms in on the thoughts and feelings of one character.

– The third-person narrator• views the actions from the vantage point of a

single character• can tell us only what that single character is

thinking, feeling, and observing

Third-Person Limited

Narrator is limited to one character.

Tells thoughts & feelings of one character

Example

Tim was mad at Shay. He blamed her. Shay just left without saying anything. She left a note and then left him.

Third-Person-Limited Point of View

• Gary paced back and forth in front of the mirror-lined wall. He glanced toward Ruth and smiled. She looked so odd standing in the corner talking to the wall. He admired the way she could totally immerse herself in a character and ignore the outside world. He was too aware of what other people thought of him. He sometimes played the clown, but only when he knew that he could get a laugh. Mr. Glover said he tried too hard to entertain people. Maybe that was why Mr. Glover always cast him in a comic role.

• This time, though, he wanted a chance to try his hand at more serious acting. Mercutio’s character seemed the perfect role for him—sometimes foolish and other times brooding and angry.

Third-Person Objective

Narrator does not reveal any character’s thoughts or feelings.

Only character’s dialogue and actions are narrated.

ExampleTim slammed the door. He walked upstairs & read a note from Shay. He kicked her trash can & started crying.

Example: Third-Person Point of View Paragraph on Camping

First of all, modern campers bring complete bedrooms with them. Winnebagoes, GMC motor homes, and Airstream trailers lumber into America’s campgrounds every summer like mobile motel rooms. All the comforts of home are provided inside. Campers sleep on real mattresses with clean sheets and fluffy pillows. Next to their beds are the same gadgets that litter their night tables at home—radios, alarm clocks, and TV remote –control units. It’s not necessary for them to worry about annoyances like cold, heat, rain, or buzzing insects. They can sit comfortably in bed and read the latest best-sellers while a thunderstorm booms outside.

Why Is Point of View Important?

– The narrator’s point of view determines what and how much you learn about the story’s characters, events, and places.

– It’s important to evaluate the credibility and knowledge of the narrator. Ask yourself:

• How much does this narrator know and understand?• How much does this narrator want me to know?• How would this story be different if someone else

were telling it?• Can I trust this narrator?

Tips on Identifying

• Check 1st or 2nd-person before worrying about objective, limited, or omniscient.

• Ask, “Who’s story is the narrator telling: his, mine, or someone else’s?”

• Focus on narration not dialogue.

Match these terms with the correct definition.

_________________— The narrator is a character in the story and tells what he or she experiences.

_________________— The narrator is an observer and knows everything about all the characters.

_________________— The narrator is an observer and describes the thoughts and feelings of just one character.

Omniscient Third-person limited First person

What Have You Learned?

Third-person limited

First person

Omniscient

Practice

1. Read the following passages.

2. Determine the narrator’s perspective.

3. Write down your answer.

1

When I was four months old, my mother died suddenly and my father was left to look after me all by himself… I had no brothers or sisters. So through boyhood, from the age of four months onward, there was just us two, my father and me. We lived in an old gypsy caravan behind a filling station”

2 The huge man dropped his blankets and flung himself down and drank from the surface of the green pool. The small man stepped behind him. "Lennie!" he said sharply. "Lennie, for God" sakes don’t drink so much." Lennie continued to snort into the pool. The small man leaned over and shook him by the shoulder. "Lennie you gonna be sick like you was last night." Lennie dipped his whole head under, hat and all… "Tha’s good," he said. "You drink some, George." He smiled happily

3

Foresight in Relationships

The previous night, make your plans for the next day and write them down… If you attend an exclusive Samurai’s party and feel timid, you cannot do your part in making it a successful party. You had first better prepare by convincing yourself that you will have a grand time. And you should feel grateful for the invitation.

4

Harold Davis took a deep breath and slowly started to peel the gauze from the wound on his grandmother’s leg. “Hold on, Grandma. I’m almost done,” He said quietly. “Don’t worry, baby. It doesn’t hurt too much,” she quietly replied. “Just take your time.” Harold glanced up at his grandmother lying on the couch. He could tell she was in pain from the way she gripped the cushions, but still she managed to smile back at him.

5They were standing under a tree, each

with an arm round the other's neck, and Alice knew which was which in a moment, because one of them had "DUM" embroidered on his collar, and the other "DEE." "I suppose they've each got "TWEEDLE" round at the back of the collar," she said to herself. They stood so still that she quite forgot they were alive, and she was just looking round to see if the word "TWEEDLE" was written at the back of each collar, when she was startled by a voice coming from the one marked "DUM."

Remember!

“I” am the first-person in the story.“You” are the second-person.“He” and “she” are the third.

“I”First-Person

“He” & “She”3rd-Person

“You”2nd-Person

The Story