Narration and
Point of View
Narration and Point of View
The narrator of the story is the person who is
telling the story. There are 4 main types of
narrators:
1. omniscient
2. first-person
3. third-person (limited)
4. objective
A writer’s choice of a narrator determines the
point of view of the story—the vantage point
from which the story is told.
The Narrator
When you read a story, the narrator—the person
telling the story—controls everything you know
about the characters and events.
Recognizing Narration in Text
To recognize narration, look at the text that is not in
“quotation marks”. Which text below is from the
narrator?
When he woke up that morning, he knew it was going
to be a terrible day. He looked at his clock and noticed he had
over-slept by 3 hours!
“Oh man! I am so late!” he said to no one.
After dressing and going to the kitchen for some
breakfast, his mother sarcastically said, “Well, good afternoon,
sleepy-head.”
“I can’t believe I overslept,” he said in a disappointed
voice. He started feeling upset, and wished he could go back
to bed.
Recognizing Narration in Text
To recognize narration, look at the text that is not in
“quotation marks”. Which text below is from the
narrator?
When he woke up that morning, he knew it was going
to be a terrible day. He looked at his clock and noticed he had
over-slept by 3 hours!
“Oh man! I am so late!” he said to no one.
After dressing and going to the kitchen for some
breakfast, his mother sarcastically said, “Well, good afternoon,
sleepy-head.”
“I can’t believe I overslept,” he said in a disappointed
voice. He started feeling upset, and wished he could go back
to bed.
Omniscient Point of View
(pronounced: om-nish-ent)
When the omniscient point of view is used,
the narrator
• is not a character in the
story
• is “all knowing” and knows
what every character feels
and thinks
• can tell what’s happening in
any setting in the story
• knows every character’s
back story
Omniscient Point of View
Quick Check
One day a young woman looked out her
apartment window and saw a man
playing a saxophone. “Cool,” she
thought as she swayed to his tune. A
big brown dog joined the man and
howled along with the music.
Then a man in pajamas yelled from
another window, complaining that the
noise woke him up and he was going to
call the police. This man, who worked
the night shift and had to sleep all day,
liked cats better than dogs anyway. The
young saxophonist left.
How can you
tell this is an
omniscient
narrator?
First-Person Point of View
A first-person narrator
• is a character in the story
• uses first-person pronouns
such as “I” and “me” when
narrating.
• tells us only what he or she
thinks and experiences
First-Person Point of View
Quick Check
“No way!” I said out loud as the sounds
of a saxophone drifted in my bedroom
window. I was finally dozing off when
my neighbor started playing that stupid
saxophone. I’d already been fired from
one job because I fell asleep on the job,
and now it’s probably going to happen
again. I don’t know which sounds
worse, that tone-deaf saxophonist or
that yowling dog. I should call the
police, I thought.
How can you
tell this is a firstperson narrator?
Third-Person (limited) Point of View
When the third-person point of view is used,
the narrator
• focuses on one character’s
thoughts and reactions
• uses third-person pronouns
(he, she, they) when
narrating.
• tells little about other
characters
Third-Person (limited) Point of View
Quick Check
He found a good spot in front of Park
View Apartments and started playing
soulfully on his sax. He wanted an
audience and needed money. After one
song, he spotted a cute girl at a
window, applauding madly. A dog
howled with the music, but the sax
player let him stay, hoping the dog
might attract some donations. Then he
heard a man yelling about calling the
police—clearly not a music lover.
How can you tell
this is a thirdperson (limited)
narrator?
Objective Point of View
When the objective point of view is used, the
narrator
• is not a character in the story,
instead they are like an invisible
observer
• only observes and tells what can
be seen or heard
• cannot tell character’s feelings or
thoughts
• not a very common form of
narration
• Used mainly in non-fiction articles
Objective Point of View
Quick Check
The man opened his saxophone case
and took the instrument out. He began
playing a sad song when a knocking
sound came from his door. He put the
sax down and went to the door. When
he opened the door, he looked at the
woman standing in the door way. He
said, “Hi, I was hoping it was you.” He
motioned her to enter his apartment.
“Would you like to sit down?”
She answered, “No thank you. I will
only be here a few minutes.”
How can you tell
this is an objective
narrator?
Let’s Review
•Omniscient narrators are “all knowing”. They can tell
what any characters think and feel. They are not
characters in the story.
•First-Person narrators are a character in the story and tell
what they think and feel. Use words like, “I” and “me”
when narrating.
•Third-Person (limited) narrators are not characters in the
story but they tell what happens in the story to one
character and can tell what that character thinks and
feels. They use third-person pronouns such as “he”,
“she”, and “they” when narrating.
•Objective narrators are not characters in the story and
can only tell what is seen and heard. They are kind of an
invisible observer.
Quiz
Omniscient
First-Person
Third-Person
limited
Objective
Which type of narrator:
•is not a character
•can only tell what is seen and heard
•is kind of like an invisible observer
objective
Quiz
Omniscient
First-Person
Third-Person
limited
Objective
Which type of narrator:
•is not a character
•can tell what every character thinks and
feels
•is “all knowing”
omniscient
Quiz
Omniscient
First-Person
Third-Person
limited
Objective
Which type of narrator:
•is a character in the story and tells what
he or she thinks and feels
•uses pronouns like, “I” and “me” when
narrating
first-person
Quiz
Omniscient
First-Person
Third-Person
limited
Objective
Which type of narrator:
•is not a character
•focuses on one character and tells what
happens to that character
•tells what that character thinks and feels
•doesn’t say much about the other
characters.
•uses pronouns like: “he”, “she”, and
“they” when narrating
third-person
(limited)
The End