1. “The Scholarship Jacket” & “A Retrieved Reformation”
Point of View

2. Learning Goals Explore the idea of obstacles.
Recognize first-person point of view
Recognize third-person omniscient point of view
Make inferences (infer)

3. Narrator
the one who tells a story

4. First-Person Point of View
the narrator
• is a character in the story
• tells the story using the pronouns I, me, we, and us
• tells the story as he or she experiences it
A first-person narrator can describe his or her own thoughts, feelings, and impressions.
As you read “The Scholarship Jacket,” notice how the information you receive is limited to what the narrator sees, hears, thinks, and feels.

5. Third-Person Omniscient Point of View
Third-Person Point of View: A third-person point of view means that the narrator is not a character in the story.
In an omniscient third-person point of view, the narrator can reveal the thoughts and feelings of all the characters.

6. Third-Person Omniscient Point of View
Notice the prefix “omni”

7. Limited Third-Person Point of View
Third-Person Point of View: A third-person point of view means that the narrator is not a character in the story.
In a limited third person point of view, the narrator can tell the thoughts and feelings of only one character.

8. The Outsiders
What point of view was used?
Explain

9. Reading skill: make inferences
Make logical guesses, or inferences, about things that are not directly stated.
Base your inferences on details in the story and on your own knowledge and experiences.

10. Think
If a movie is based on a book that was told in the first person, what might the screenplay writer have to do or consider?

11. Third-Person Omniscient Point of View
An omniscient, or all-knowing, narrator
• tells the story using the pronouns he, she, it, and they
• is aware of what all the characters in the story are thinking and doing
As you read “A Retrieved Reformation,” notice when you have more information than the characters do.

12. Third-Person Omniscient Point of View
The guidance counselor felt relieved as he read the teacher’s note. The student sitting in front of him, nervously wondering what was to happen to her, would get a second chance after all.
How do you know that the point of view is third-person omniscient?

13. Predict
When readers predict, they combine information from the text with their prior knowledge to guess what might happen next.
Predict how the student in the example above will feel when she hears the news.

14. Vocabulary Study
As I read each sentence, listen for the red word and clues to its meaning. Together discuss possible meanings of the word.

15. Vocabulary Study
1. A loud noise caused the horses to balk. Their refusal to move slowed him down.
2. Jimmy is required to serve only part of his full sentence. He has already completed the compulsory number of months.

16. Vocabulary Study
3. The officials know that once Jimmy is out of prison, he will be impossible to capture again. He is the most elusive criminal of the century.
4. Only the eminent and world-famous detective Ben Price could ever hope to capture “Dandy” Jimmy Valentine.

17. Vocabulary Study
5. For a master criminal, he certainly behaves genially. He always has a pleasant smile for everyone, even for the police trying to catch him.
6. Although prison is meant to rehabilitate criminals and prepare them to return to society as more honest citizens, it often falls short of its goal.

18. Vocabulary Study
7. He received a light sentence for his crimes. The members of the jury found him too charming to hand down more severe retribution.
8. He used to saunter down the street as if he did not have a care in the world. He looked like any other young man out for a stroll.

19. Vocabulary Study
9. Unperceived by anyone, Jimmy had already taken out his tools. By the time the family noticed him, he was ready to begin drilling.
10. For a year he led a virtuous life. He was a model citizen and obeyed the law.

20. “A Retrieved Reformation”
Predict based on title
Retrieve -
Reformation -

21. O. Henry
“A Retrived Reformation”
Page 226

22. In O. Henry’s “A Retrieved Reformation,” decision-making plays an important role in the story’s development. As in life, these decisions affect events, conflicts, and other characters. Three decisions in the story deserve close examination:
 Jimmy’s decision to go straight and open a shoe store in Elmore.
 Jimmy’s decision to reveal himself in order to free Agatha from the safe.
 Detective Ben Price’s decision to pretend not to know Jimmy’s true identity.
To evaluate these decisions, identify alternatives to each. In your opinion, do the characters make the right decision in each case?
Explain why in a discussion with a group of classmates.