POINT OF VIEW: DEFINITIONS
First Person:
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The narrator is one of the characters in the story
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First person pronouns, such as I, me, my, and mine are used in telling
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Since the narrator is a character in the story, he/she may not be completely reliable
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We find out only what this character knows, thinks, and sees
Third Person Objective:
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The narrator is not a character in the story
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Third person pronouns such as he, his, she, it, its, they, and them are used in the story
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The narrator is an observer who can only tell what is said and done
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The narrator cannot see into the minds of any of the characters
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We can only find out what the characters say and do
Subjective point of view:
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Is a personal view or opinion.
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This involves "mental" stuff: sensations, beliefs, feelings, emotions, opinions, thoughts
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It is different from OBJECTIVE because OBJECTIVE Point of View gives only facts.
Third Person Limited:
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The narrator is not a character in the story
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Third person pronouns such as he, his, she, it, its, they, and them are used in the story
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The narrator tells the story from the vantage point of one character
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The narrator can see into this character’s mind, but not any of the others
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We find out only what this character does, knows, thinks, and sees
Third Person Omniscient:
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The narrator is not a character in the story
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Third person pronouns such as he, his, she, it, its, they, and them are used in the story
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The narrator is all-knowing and can see into the minds of the all the characters. The narrator can
also report what is said and done
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We find out what all of the characters, do, feel, think, and see
POINT OF VIEW: Q & A
I. Directions: Use the information above to answer the questions below!
1. List the main differences between First and Third Person narrators?
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2. When is the narrator not necessarily reliable? Why?
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3. Which type of narrator can see into only one character’s mind?
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4. When is the narrator one of the characters in the story?
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5. Based on the information above, what does the word omniscient mean?
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6. When can we only find out what the characters say or do? ______________________________________________________________________________
7. Why can the Third Person Omniscient narrator see into the minds of all the characters?
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8. When is the narrator only an observer?
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9. What type of narrator is used in Harrison Bergeron? How do you know?
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II. Directions: Choose one type of narration and in your NB, write one paragraph from that
point of view. Share with your group and see if they know which one you are using!