AN AFRICAN THUNDERSTROM SUMMARY NAME:TAMASA FYFE GRADE:10X1 SCHOOL:TACKY HIGH SUBJECT:ENGLISH LITERATURE The poem an African Thunder storm by David Rubadiri describes a ferocious storm approaching from west that is about to strike a village. It uses the theme of man against nature to fully accentuate the importance about what is taken place. The readers are given the visual description of hurrying winds, rain clouds, tree bending as it moves towards the village with rain clouds and lighting that set fire to the village. The poem personifies the storm using broaden terms as pregnant clouds, plague of locusts, a mad man chasing to indicate no one is safe. Using dark descriptive words to emphasize the great tragedy that is about the villagers. On the surface, the poem seems to be talking about a storm but is a metaphor for colonization of Africa by Europeans (westerners.) NARRATIVE POINT OF VIEWS What Is Narrative Point of View? Authors don’t speak to us directly in literary works. They use an intermediary device called a narrator. Narrative point of view is the perspective f the narrators. There are three primary types of point of view: 1. First person point of view. In first person point of view, one of the characters is narrating the story. This is generally revealed by the “I” sentence construction and relies on first person pronouns. (“I went to work.”) The reader assumes that this character is closely related to the story’s action—either a main character or someone close to the protagonist. First person narrative can provide intimacy and a deeper look into a character’s mind, but it is also limited by the perceptive abilities of the character. They are confined to report only what they would realistically know about the story, and they are further confined by their own perspective. Nick Carraway of The Great Gatsby (1925) by F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ishmael of Herman Melville’s Moby Dick (1851) are two of the most well-known first person narrators in literature and great examples of this point of view. 2. Second person point of view. Second person point of view is structured around the “you” pronoun, and is less common in novel-length work. (“You thought you could do it.”) Second person can allow you to draw your reader into the story and make them feel like they’re part of the action because the narrator is speaking directly to them. Writing in second person for any great length is a challenge, and will stretch your writing skills. Lorrie Moore is well-known for her innovative use of second person narration in her short story collection Self-Help (1985). Second person point of view is sometimes referred to as second person POV. 3.Third person point of view. The author is narrating a story about the characters and refers to them with the third person pronouns “he/she.” (“He was hungry.”) This point of view is subdivided into third person omniscient and third person limited. Third person point of view is sometimes referred to as third person POV. What Is the Third Person Limited Point of View? The third person omniscient (meaning "all knowing") point of view is a method of storytelling in which the narrator knows what every character is thinking. Third person limited point of view, on the other hand, is a method of storytelling in which the narrator knows only the thoughts and feelings of a single character, while other characters are presented only externally. Third person limited grants a writer more freedom than first person, but less knowledge than third person omniscient What Is the Third Person Omniscient Point of View? The third-person omniscient point of view is a method of storytelling in which the narrator knows the thoughts and feelings of all of the characters in the story. The third-person is not the same as the thirdperson limited, a point of voice that adheres closely to one character's perspective, usually the main character's. Through the use of the third-person omniscient viewpoint, a writer is able to bring to life an entire world of characters and give them significant depth and meaning. As such, it's an excellent literary device to aid in character development. This is an especially useful literary device in complicated stories when the writer is introducing the reader to a plethora of characters. Using the third-person omniscient point of view, the narrator is able to relate information to the reader about each character that some of the characters in the story might not know about each other.
