Point Of View

POINT OF VIEW

By: Mrs. Wanda Ramírez

THE ANGLE FROM WHICH A STORY IS TOLD

.This depends upon who is telling the story.The narrator is the person or character who is telling the story.

POINT OF VIEW

Almost all stories can be classified into two main categories according to their point of view: First Person Narrator Third Person Narrator

There are five subdivisions under these categories.

FIRST PERSON NARRATOR

A first-person point of view means that one of the characters is telling the story: “I walked slowly, wishing I could turn and run instead of facing Mrs. Grunch.”

A. “I” as secondary character

B. “I” as protagonist

FIRST PERSON POINT OF VIEW

The narrator in first person stories should never be confused with the author. We must remember that

the narrator is created by the author.

First-Person

In first person stories the author has no more than ordinary access to the thoughts, emotions and mental states of the other characters. The reader only has available the observations, thoughts, feelings, and perceptions of the narrator.

THIRD PERSON NARRATOR

A third-person point of view means that someone outside of the story is telling it:

“She walked slowly, wishing she could turn and run instead of facing Mrs. Grunch.”

THIRD-PERSON POINTS OF VIEW

A. Multiple omniscience B. Selective omniscience C. Dramatic or Objective

MULTIPLE OMNISCIENCE

In stories with the third-person point of view of multiple omniscience the author gives us access to the minds and thoughts of several characters in the story.

In a “godlike” intuition, the narrator relates the thoughts and feelings of all the characters.

SELECTIVE OMNISCIENCE

This third-person point of view (selective omniscience) limits us to the mind of only one character, generally the protagonist.

DRAMATIC OR OBJECTIVE

The dramatic point of view limits us even further to what the characters do and say. Their appearance and the setting are often supplied by the author, but there is never any direct representation of what they think or how they feel. Here mental states may be inferred from action and dialogue.

This point of view is also called the camera view; seeing and recording the action from a natural or unemotional view.