Point of View:

Narrator and Voice … of the story

Narrator When you read a story, a narrator is the one

telling the story. The narrator controls everything we know about the characters and events.

There are three main points-of-view: Omniscient first person third person limited

plus two lesser used perspectives: second person third person objective:

Omniscient point of view Narrator is not in the story; an outside

observer. The narrator tells everything about all

the characters and their thoughts and feelings.

Although the narrator describes the events of the story; it is at his/her discretion when that information is given.

Omniscient – all knowing

First person point of view – Reader learns what happens through one of the

characters in the story. The reader only sees only what this particular

character thinks and feels, resulting in a very subjective interruption of events. (meaning, because the reader only hearing “one side of the story” you, as the reader, should be careful to evaluate the information presented)

“I” and “me” will be used to tell experiences and events

persona – refers to a first person narrator (literary term)

Credible Vs. Unreliable Narrator Credible narrator – is reliable, can be trusted to

relay information to reader (unbiased opinion of events or experiences)

Unreliable narrator – does not or cannot tell the truth (biased opinion of events or experiences) because we as the reader only know what this particular

narrator says and does, it is important for the reader to be able to believe the narrator or realize that the account of the events are slanted (biased).

Third person limited point of view The narrator is not one of the characters,

just an observer telling the story through only one character.

This narrator tells only thoughts and feelings of one character, but cannot tell the reader the thoughts and feeling of other characters. zooms in on one character using “he” or “she”

to tell the story.

Two lesser used perspectives: Third person

objective The narrator is only an

observer and tells the reader about only the actions and dialogue that takes place.

The narrator does not tell the thoughts and feelings of the characters; the reader must infer these based on the actions and dialogue of the characters.

Second person point of view The lesser known style.

The narrator addresses readers directly by calling them “you” to tell them the actions.

The second person perspective is often used in informational essays or directions, such as “how-to” pieces.

Misc. Information Tone – Watch that attitude – attitude the

author takes towards a subject, character or audience. It the tone joyous, somber, serious, ironic, dark, angry? The tone can be changed if the perspective of the story changes.

Voice – manner of speaking and tone. Voice refers to the use of language and use of words.

diction – style/manner of speaking (accent, enunciation, vernacular language etc)

You try … read each sentence – on separate sheet of paper, write the point of view in which the sentence is written.

1. You really ought to start exercising if you want to loose weight.

2. After many years of being best, Jenny and Jared finally realized that they have been in love with each other all along.

3. Judith’s nose scrunched up at the news.4. Blaine was intimated by the many adults watching him.5. Let me tell you about my weekend at the zoo.6. I think Hanna was disappointed to leave her beach house.7. They jumped across the rocks awkwardly but never lost

their footing.8. Pam watched those around her, and thought they made the

dance look easy.9. Fold the corners of the paper together.10. Dylan was very excited to find an acceptance letter from

the university, but Nick was very jealous.

Answers1. second person2. omniscient3. objective4. third limited5. first person6. first person7. objective8. third limited9. second person10. omniscient