POINT OF VIEW
WHAT WORD DO
YOU SEE?
OPTICAL ILLUSION
Do you see two old people or two young people?
Do you see a third young person? Do you see a guitar?
What do you see in the middle of the picture?
OPTICAL
ILLUSION
Do you see a
young woman in
the picture or an
old woman?
Do you see the
young woman’s
ear?
Do you see the
old woman’s
nose?
DOES IT LOOK DIFFERENT TO YOU
IN BLACK AND WHITE?
How many umpires are on the
field? Why not only use one?
POINT OF VIEW
Who is telling the story?
NARRATOR
• The narrator is the “voice” that tells the
story.
• The “voice” may be a character in the story.
• The “voice” may be an observer who tells
the reader what he sees and hears.
POINT OF VIEW
• This is the narrator through whose eyes the
reader “sees” the story happen.
• The narrator “controls” all of the
information that the reader is told.
FIRST
PERSON NARRATOR
• “I never had a brain until Freak came along
and let me borrow his for a while, and that’s
the truth, the whole truth.” (page 1)
Max
in Freak the Mighty
• “If my cousin Duffy had the brains of
a turnip it never would have happened.
But as far as I’m concerned, Duffy
makes a turnip look bright.” Andrew in
“Duffy’s Jacket
FIRST PERSON POINT OF VIEW
• The narrator of the story is also ONE of the
characters in the story.
• This point of view uses the following pronouns: I,
me, my, mine, we, us, our.
• The reader only knows what the ONE character
knows. (disadvantage)
• The reader feels very connected to the story.
(advantage)
Examples of stories for first
person point of view
“Priscilla and the Wimps”
“Duffy’s Jacket”
“User Friendly”
“Charles”
(student)
(Duffy’s cousin Andrew)
(Kevin Neal)
(Laurie’s mother)
MULTIPLE
FIRST PERSON
NARRATORS
The reader or
movie viewer
sees the story
from the point
of view of
MORE THAN
ONE
CHARACTER.
Books with
Multiple First Person
Narrators
THIRD PERSON
• The narrator is NOT a character in the story.
• The narrator is an observer who tells the reader
about someone else.
• The narrator uses the third person pronouns. (he,
she, him, her, they, them, their)
THIRD PERSON
LIMITED
• The narrator tells the reader the thoughts and
feelings of ONE character in the story.
• “The enemy on the opposite roof covered his
escape. He must kill that enemy and he could not
use his rifle. He had only a revolver to do it.
Then he thought of a plan.”
• (“The Sniper”
by Liam O’ Flaherty)
THIRD PERSON
OMNISCIENT
• The word “omniscient” means all-knowing.
• In these stories, the narrator knows the
thoughts and feelings of many characters in
the story.
• “Amigo Brothers” is an example of an
“omniscient” narrator.
• We know the feelings of both Antonio and
Felix.
Short Stories with a
Third Person Point of View
• “Amigo
Brothers”
• “After Twenty
Years”
• “Antonio Cruz and
Felix Vargas were
both seventeen years
old. They had known
each other since
childhood. . . .”
• “The policeman on the
beat moved up the
avenue impressively.”
• “The man in the
doorway struck a
match and lit his
cigar.”
The author has TWO
choices for point of view.
• FIRST PERSON
POINT OF VIEW
• THIRD PERSON
POINT OF VIEW
• The narrator is a
character in the story.
• The narrator is NOT
part of the story.
• The reader only knows • The narrator is an
what the narrator
observer who tells us
knows.
about the characters
and the events.
Why might an author choose a
specific point of view?
This novel uses first
person point of view.
This novel uses third person
point of view.
IS THERE A
SECOND PERSON
POINT OF VIEW?
•In non-fiction, it
would be a “HOW
TO” book.
•This tells the reader
“HOW TO” do
something.
•In fiction, it would be
a “Choose Your Own
Adventure” story.
WHAT DO
YOU SEE?
Is this a
musician or a
girl’s face?
It all depends
on your
POINT OF
VIEW.
WHAT DO
YOU SEE?
Do you see a
duck or do you
see a bunny?
It all depends
on your
POINT OF
VIEW.
WHAT DO
YOU SEE?
Do you see a
mountain
stream?
OR
Do you see
many people
and buildings
with
windows?
SAY THE COLOR,
NOT THE WORD
POINT OF VIEW
WHO IS TELLING
THE STORY?