It all depends on your… POINT OF VIEW

Point of View The perspective, or vantage point, from which the story is told. It is either a narrator outside the story or a character in the story.

Let’s talk about this… How does your point of view affect your perception of a situation? Example: A fight has broken out in the lunch room. How do you know who is right? How might your opinion change if you were a different person, for instance… The fight participants The observers of the fight A teacher An administrator A parent

A skilled author can suppress his/her personal feelings, opinions, perspectives, or biases and become that narrator-telling the story as his/her narrator would see it.

POINT OF VIEW Simply, this is the character who is talking or telling the story to the reader. There are FOUR points of view that we will talk about in this class.

4 Points of View 1. First Person One of the main characters is telling the story as he/she participates in it. The author uses pronouns like I, me, mine. Since the narrator is a character in the story, he/she may not be completely reliable. We find out only what this character knows, thinks, and witnesses.

4 Points of View 2. Third Person OBJECTIVE A narrator (who is not a character in the story) tells the story as an objective observer. The author uses pronouns like he, his, she, hers, it, etc. They cannot see what any characters are thinking and feeling, but can only observe. The reader has to judge what the character is thinking or feeling by what they say, what they do, and their facial expressions - much like real life, in fact!

4 Points of View 3. Third Person LIMITED A narrator (who is not a character in the story) tells the story but only from one character’s perspective. Pronouns such as he, his, hers, it, etc. are used. The narrator gives the reader access to only that one character’s thoughts and feelings. We find out only what this one character does, knows, thinks and witnesses.

4 Points of View 4. Third Person OMNISCIENT A narrator (who is not a character in the story) tells the story but has access to several or even all of the characters’ thoughts and feelings. The author uses pronouns like he, his, she, hers, it, etc. The narrator is all-knowing.

What about 2nd person? There is a second person point of view, but we will not be focusing on it this year. Most stories are not told in second person. It is reserved for items of personal address, such as letters. In second person, pronouns such as you, your, and yours are used.

Example of First Person “I never had a brain until Freak came along and let me borrow his for a while, and that’s the truth, the whole truth. The unvanquished truth, is how Freak would say it, and for a long time it was him who did the talking. Except I had a way of saying things with my fists and my feet even before we became Freak the Mighty….” Excerpt from Freak the Mighty

Example of Third Person Objective “Harry would tie Theo’s hands behind his back with a rope, then put him in a sack and tie the top. The tied and bagged Theo was then placed into the trunk which was locked and tied with ropes. A curtain was drawn so that no one could see the trunk, although they could hear Theo banging around inside. With great drama, Houdini told the audience, ‘When I clap my hands three times—behold a miracle!’ He moved behind the curtain, clapped three times, and out stepped Theo, arms raised triumphantly.” From Harry Houdini: A Photographic Story of a Life by Vicki Cobb

Example of Third Person Limited “[The scientist] tried switching through various sounds, but there was no echo. The scientist was puzzled, but he could not very well give up with everyone watching him so intently.” Excerpt from “He-y, Come On O-ut!”

Example of Third Person Omniscient “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.” Excerpt from “Seventh Grade”

What point of view is used? Joshua walked into the room carefully. He began to sweat as he looked at the equipment in the room. He wondered what tools Dr. Scott would be using on his teeth. His fear was short lived. He was excited when the dentist told him that he didn’t have any cavities.

What point of view is used? As I ran up to the stage to receive my award, I didn’t realize that my shoe lace was untied. I took a few steps, tripped over my shoe lace, and fell flat on my back. The crowd waited in silence to see if I was okay. They erupted in applause, when I stood up and walked to the stage to get my award. For a moment I was embarrassed, but I guess I showed courage by getting up and walking to the stage. I made sure that I held my head up high as I accepted my award.

What point of view is used? One day Tina went to the movies. She went to see Epic Movie. Tina thought she should purchase a plate of nachos, a pop, and a box of candy, but her friend thought she shouldn’t. Tina purchased the food anyway.

What point of view is used? Maggie Wetherfield was walking to Jessica’s house for a sleepover when she noticed Allen following her. She started to walk a little faster. When she heard him calling her name, she stopped. He came running to her and asked if she had tonight’s homework. She replied, “We have to do math pages seven through nine, numbers one through twenty-four.”

What point of view is used? She went to her best friend’s house to study. When she got there, they rode their bikes for 20 minutes, went back to the house to study, ate dinner, and then went back home.

What point of view is used? When I went to the store, I witnessed a girl crying on the street and I took a closer look and saw it was my friend. I walked to where she was and asked her what was wrong. She said, “Family problems.” Being a good friend, I told her to call me later if she wanted to talk about it.