“The Scholarship Jacket” & “A Retrieved Reformation”
Learning Goals
Explore the idea of obstacles.
 Recognize first-person point of view
 Recognize third-person omniscient
point of view
 Make inferences (infer)

Narrator

the one who tells a story
First-Person Point of View

the narrator
 • is a character in the story
 • tells the story using the pronouns I, me, we, and us
 • tells the story as he or she experiences it

A first-person narrator can describe his or her own
thoughts, feelings, and impressions.

As you read “The Scholarship Jacket,” notice how
the information you receive is limited to what the
narrator sees, hears, thinks, and feels.
Third-Person Omniscient Point of
View
Third-Person Point of View: A thirdperson point of view means that the
narrator is not a character in the story.
 In an omniscient third-person point of
view, the narrator can reveal the
thoughts and feelings of all the
characters.

Third-Person Omniscient Point of
View
Omniscient
 http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/o
mniscient?s=t
 Notice the prefix “omni”

Limited Third-Person Point of
View
Third-Person Point of View: A thirdperson point of view means that the
narrator is not a character in the story.
 In a limited third person point of view,
the narrator can tell the thoughts and
feelings of only one character.

The Outsiders

What point of view was used?

Explain
Reading skill: make inferences
Make logical guesses, or inferences,
about things that are not directly stated.
 Base your inferences on details in the
story and on your own knowledge and
experiences.

Think . . .

If a movie is based on a book that was
told in the first person, what might the
screenplay writer have to do or
consider?
Third-Person Omniscient Point of
View

An omniscient, or all-knowing, narrator
 • tells the story using the pronouns he, she,
it, and they
 • is aware of what all the characters in the
story are thinking and doing

As you read “A Retrieved Reformation,”
notice when you have more information
than the characters do.
Third-Person Omniscient Point of
View

The guidance counselor felt relieved as
he read the teacher’s note. The student
sitting in front of him, nervously
wondering what was to happen to her,
would get a second chance after all.

How do you know that the point of view
is third-person omniscient?
Predict

When readers predict, they combine
information from the text with their prior
knowledge to guess what might happen
next.

Predict how the student in the example
above will feel when she hears the
news.
Vocabulary Study

As I read each sentence, listen for the
red word and clues to its meaning.
Together discuss possible meanings of
the word.
Vocabulary Study
1. A loud noise caused the horses to
balk. Their refusal to move slowed him
down.
 2. Jimmy is required to serve only part
of his full sentence. He has already
completed the compulsory number of
months.

Vocabulary Study
3. The officials know that once Jimmy is
out of prison, he will be impossible to
capture again. He is the most elusive
criminal of the century.
 4. Only the eminent and world-famous
detective Ben Price could ever hope to
capture “Dandy” Jimmy Valentine.

Vocabulary Study

5. For a master criminal, he certainly
behaves genially. He always has a
pleasant smile for everyone, even for
the police trying to catch him.

6. Although prison is meant to
rehabilitate criminals and prepare them
to return to society as more honest
citizens, it often falls short of its goal.
Vocabulary Study
7. He received a light sentence for his
crimes. The members of the jury found
him too charming to hand down more
severe retribution.
 8. He used to saunter down the street
as if he did not have a care in the world.
He looked like any other young man out
for a stroll.

Vocabulary Study
9. Unperceived by anyone, Jimmy had
already taken out his tools. By the time
the family noticed him, he was ready to
begin drilling.
 10. For a year he led a virtuous life. He
was a model citizen and obeyed the law.

“A Retrieved Reformation”

Predict based on title
Retrieve http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/r
etrieved+?s=t
 Reformation http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/R
eformation?s=t

O. Henry

“A Retrived Reformation”

http://youtu.be/Hw320Zj8BBM

Page 226

In O. Henry’s “A Retrieved Reformation,” decisionmaking plays an important role in the story’s
development. As in life, these decisions affect
events, conflicts, and other characters. Three
decisions in the story deserve close examination:

Jimmy’s decision to go straight and open a shoe
store in Elmore.
Jimmy’s decision to reveal himself in order to free
Agatha from the safe.
Detective Ben Price’s decision to pretend not to
know Jimmy’s true identity.
To evaluate these decisions, identify alternatives to
each. In your opinion, do the characters make the
right decision in each case?




Explain why in a discussion with a group of
classmates.