Point of View
EQ 1-When discussing a
reading selection, what do we
mean by point of view?
(0701.8.2) (CCSS RL6)
Three Versions of Same Story
 The
Three Little Pigs
 The
True Story of the Three Little Pigs

Pigs in a Polka
Who Tells the Story?
It was the
championship game
and when the final
buzzer sounded, the
fans were yelling from
the stands.
Three volunteers leave the room with and
index card with instructions.
Why Point of View Matters
Point of view refers to
how a writer chooses
to tell a story. It is the
vantage point from
which a story is told.
Point of view can:
As you just saw, point
of view can have a big
impact on readers and
listeners.




Affect what you learn or
don’t learn about an
event.
Influence your impressions
of people involved.
Shape your opinion of
what happened.
Help you see events in a
new or different way.
Point of View in Literature
In literature, point of view is determined by
a writer’s choice of narrator-the voice that
tells the story. That narrator can be insider
the story or an outside observer.
 The narrator can be:



a first person narrator
A third person limited narrator
A third person omniscient narrator
First-Person Narrator
 is
a character in the story
 refers to himself or herself using the
pronouns I and me.
 describes only his or her own thoughts
feelings and impressions
 does not know what other characters are
thinking or feeling.
First-Person Narrator- Example
How foolish of me! I
had let my canoe
paddle float off, and
now I was out in the
middle of the lake
with no way back!
Third-Person Narrator
 is
not a character in the story but an
outside observer
 focuses on the thoughts and feelings of
only one character
Third-Person Narrator Example
Evan stared helplessly as
the paddle floated
down the lake. Terrified,
he wondered if anyone
would hear his calls for
help. Worse yet, he
hadn’t told anyone
where he was going.
Third-Person Omniscient
Narrator
 is
not a character in the story, but an
outside observer
 is “all-knowing”-that is, he or she has
access to the thoughts, feelings and
opinions of all the characters
 can report events happening in different
places at the same time
Third-Person Omniscient
Narrator Example
Evan drifted helplessly
for several hours
before he heard
familiar voices calling
for him. His parents,
sick with worry, had
borrowed a canoe
and paddled out to
look for him.
from Alice in Wonderland- Lewis Carroll
Alice was beginning to get very tired
of sitting by her sister on the bank, and of
having nothing to do: once or twice she
had peeped into the book her sister was
reading, but it had no pictures or
conversations in it, ‘and what is the use of a
book,’ thought Alice ‘without pictures or
conversation?’
First Person or Third Person?
Third Person
Analyzing the Point of View
 ______________
by ___________ is told from
the ____________ point of view.
 I know it is the point of view because
___________________________________.
 The narrator (is/ is not) a participant in the
story.
 This point of view helps the reader to
know _________________________________.
 The narrator can/ or cannot reveal
_______________________________________
from “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allen Poe
It is impossible to say how first the idea
entered my brain; but once conceived, it
haunted me day and night. Object there was
none. Passion there was none. I loved the old
man. He has never wronged me. He had never
given me insult. For his gold I had no desire. I
think it was his eye! Yes, it was this! He had the
eye of a vulture- a pale blue eye, with a film
over it. Whenever it fell upon me, my blood ran
cold; and so by degrees- very gradually- I
made up my mind to take the life of the old
man, and thus rid myself of the eye forever.
First Person or Third Person?
First Person
Analyzing the Point of View
 ______________
by ___________ is told from
the ____________ point of view.
 I know it is the point of view because
___________________________________.
 The narrator (is/ is not) a participant in the
story.
 This point of view helps the reader to
know _________________________________.
 The narrator can/ or cannot reveal
_______________________________________