EXPLAINING A TEXT: Point of View and Narrative Technique Mrs. Turner 7 th Grade Reading

Purpose  The purpose of this lesson is for the student to be able to understand Narrative Point of View and Narrative Technique.

Point of View Point of view can be defined as the angle from which the story is seen and recounted.

First Person Point of View  The author disappears into one of the characters, who tells the story in the first person.  The first person point of view shares the virtues and limitations of the limited omniscient.  We get the story directly from a participant, but we only get his or her feelings.

You Try It…  Write a short story (5 minutes) about you and your friends.  Make yourself the main character.  Write it in the 1 st Person Point of View.  Share with group.

Point-of-View Omniscient Narrator  Narrator knows everything about the story and the characters.  He controls the story and sometimes breaks into the narrative to address the reader (you) directly.  Narrator who knows all about all characters and events.

Think About This…  In the story, Rikki-Tikki-Tavi, the narrator tells the story.  We see all events that are taking place in the story.  We know what all the characters are thinking.  Can you think of another story that does this? Discuss and record in the example column.

Point-of-View No specific character focus:  When the author presents his story without penetrating the feelings or thoughts of any character.  He plays the part of a simple informer- Objective.  Objective fiction is common in modern fiction.

Think about this…  In the story, Rice Sandwich, the story is told from the perspective of the narrator, but we only get thoughts and feelings of the characters when the main character speaks and tells us directly.

Narrative technique Refers to the medium used to tell the story (what format it is).

Point-of-View First-person (I) narrative techniques:  The narrator may present events and thoughts as a diary or as a straight autobiography.  He may resort to interior monologue in which he reviews past events associated with present events.

Point-of-View Objective Autobiography:  The I narrator is the central character grown older and more mature.  Distance in time detaches him from the past events he recounts. Think of someone older retelling a story from the past. It is usually an account of the events with no feelings. Think of someone older retelling a story from the past. It is usually an account of the events with no feelings.  This splitting of the character into "I now/narrator" and "I then/subject" permits objectivity.  Often found in an autobiography.

Point-of-View Subjective Autobiography:  The central character tells the story as it happens and is deeply involved in the events and their consequences. May include exaggerations. May include exaggerations.  Subjectivity often results from the absence of time gap between telling and happening: the narrator tends to distort facts to defend his side of the story. (cf. Huckleberry Finn or stories you may tell in the hallway-))

You Try It!  Think about a story from your own life that you were a character in.  Plan out your story based on the events that happened.  Write you story out, but exaggerate some parts to make it seem funnier, scarier, etc.

Review the following stories in your literature book. Using your handout, label each story as Omniscient or Limited Omniscient. Give examples that support each decision.  Duffy’s Jacket  Three Skeleton Key  The Ruum  The Dinner Party  After 20 Years  Girls  Mother and Daughter  Anteaus  User Friendly  Phaethon