Point of View and The Anti-Hero

Point of View Point of view refers to the narrator of a story and how involved that narrator is in the events and actions of the story.

1 st person = told from the perspective of a character – The narrator is a character in the story 3 rd person limited = not told from the perspective of a character – the narrator is not a character in the story – The narrator’s knowledge is limited to one character’s thoughts and feelings 3 rd person omniscient (“all – knowing”) = not told from the perspective of a character – the narrator is not a character in the story – Knows the thoughts and feelings of all characters

POV’s Effect on a Story When a story is told from the first person or third person limited point-of-view, then we are not able to get the perspective of all of the characters. This means that sometimes, we don’t get the “whole story,” but only one character’s side of what happens. Often, stories are told from the perspective of a hero protagonist.

Changing the Point-of-View Pretend that your friend, Mary, tells you that someone else, Hannah, has been talking badly about you. You are intrigued, so you ask your Mary everything about what Hannah said. Mary says that Hannah said something really mean. BUT, what if you decided to ask Hannah herself what she said about you? What might happen?

Changing the Point-of-View When you tell or hear a story from a different person’s (character’s) perspective, it often changes the way that we understand the story and its events.

Perspective and the Anti-Hero Sometimes, authors tell a story from the perspective of a protagonist who is not a hero or “good guy.” They are still a protagonist because they are the main character on whom the action centers, but they are often more villain-like or questionable in character. This is called the anti-hero.

The Anti-Hero The concept of an Anti-Hero is often used in darker literature. The Anti-Hero is being used more in modern literature as authors try to portray villains as complex characters An Anti-Hero sometimes relates to a reader because the Anti-Hero displays more humanity that a regular Hero who is perfect. Instead of a standard tragic flaw an Anti-Hero may try to do what is right by using questionable means.

The Anti-Hero Some Anti-Heroes may be unable to commit to traditional values of society. This type of Anti-Hero distrusts conventional society. Another type of Anti-Hero cannot “get a break” in life – nothing seems to be their own fault. He/she will move from one disappointment to another, their efforts always ending in failure.

But, can we trust him? When reading stories with a protagonist who is not a hero, you must decide if you can trust that character’s telling of the story. We will explore some stories and fairy tales told from two perspectives: the traditional hero and the anti-hero. Then, we will compare the stories and decide how the changed perspective changed the story.