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Point of View
Who is telling the story?
+POINT OF VIEW:
The vantage point
(perspective) from
which the story is
told, or from whose
eyes are we, the
reader seeing the
story.
First Person
Point of View
Third Person
Limited Point
of
View
Third Person
Omniscient Point
Of View
Second Person
Point of View
Point of View
Who is telling the story?
+FIRST PERSON
POINT OF VIEW:
A very limited
point of view. You
are getting one
side of the story.
USES I, ME,
OR MY
Third Person
Omniscient Point
Of View
Third Person
Limited Point
of
View
Second Person
Point of View
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THIRD PERSON LIMITED
POINT OF VIEW:
In third person limited point
of view the narrator is NOT
part of the story. They use
pronouns such as “they” and
“he” and “she.” They CAN
only see inside the thoughts
and attitudes of ONE or a
LIMITED number of
characters.
HE…
SHE…
LIMITED VIEW
His wild laughter mocked the
world and everyone he had ever
known. It mocked the
loneliness. It mocked every
bully that had ever picked on
him. Touching Spirit Bear
THIRD PERSON LIMITED: The narrator has a very close relationship
with one or two of the characters but not all. The narrator seems to have feelings
about the character’s plight. The narrator attempts to develop empathy or sympathy
for a character or limited characters by focusing on a specific character/s. The
reader, through inference, can draw a conclusion as to how the narrator feels about a
specific character or characters.
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THIRD PERSON OMNISCIENT
POINT OF VIEW:
HE…
SHE…
In third person omniscient point
THEY…
of view, the narrator is NOT a
part of the story. They use
Narrator knows ALL
pronouns such as “he,” “she,”
and “they.” They CAN see inside
the thoughts and attitudes of ALL
characters because they are “allknowing.”
“Hansel walked ahead of Gretel; after all, he knew he belonged in the front
because Gretel was just a girl. Gretel dropped breadcrumbs behind her as she
went, knowing that her bumbling brother couldn’t be counted on to find his way
home from the outhouse, let alone from the middle of the woods .Ahead of them,
an old witch waited, her stomach rumbling at the thought of what a delicious
dinner the two plump children would make.”
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2nd PERSON POINT OF VIEW:
Occasionally an author will
employ second person point of
view. However, this is a rarity. In
these cases, “you” is used as the
narrator literally speaks to the
reader. An example of secondperson would be a Choose Your
Own Adventure story.
First Person
Point of View
You have brains in your head.You have feet
in your shoes. You can steer yourself any
direction you choose.You’re on your own.
And you know what you know. And YOU
are the guy who’ll decide where to
go." (Dr. Seuss, Oh! The Places You’ll Go!
Random House, 1990)
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?
?
ASK YOUR NEIGHBOR…
HOW MANY POINTS OF VIEW CAN THIS STORY BE TOLD FROM?
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cat
narrator
fish
baby
You need a piece of paper and the picture above.
Fold the paper in half.
On one side of the paper write a very short story from one point
of view and on the other side of the paper write a very short
story from a different point of view.
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