Point of View & Narrative Mode

Point of View& Narrative Mode

Point of View • The perspective of the narrative voice • First Person • Second Person • Third Person • Third Person Omniscient • Alternating Point of View

POINT OF VIEW(CONTINUED) • First Person POV – Narrator, who is also a character, tells the story “I looked at Ras on his horse and at their handful of guns and recognized the absurdity of the whole night and of the simple yet confoundingly complex arrangement of hope and desire, fear and hate, that had brought me here still running, and knowing now who I was and where I was and …” Invisible Man, Ralph Ellison

POINT OF VIEW(CONTINUED) • Second Person POV – Narrator refers to the main character as “you,” making the reader feel part of the story “You’re walking down the street and you hear a commotion up ahead. You’re not sure if you should walk toward it, or if you should turn the other way. You decide quickly to follow the noise and see what was happening…”

Point of View(continued) • Third Person POV – Narrator is an uninvolved conveyor of the story; refers to characters as “he,” “she,” “they,” etc. “Dudley's birthday—how could he have forgotten? Harry got slowly out of bed and started looking for socks. He found a pair under his bed and, after pulling a spider off one of them, put them on. Harry was used to spiders, because the cupboard under the stairs was full of them, and that was where he slept.” Harry Potter, JK Rowling

POINT OF VIEW(CONTINUED) • Third Person Omniscient – The narrator has an overarching, godlike perspective, seeing and knowing everything that happens within the world of the story, regardless of the presence of certain characters, including everything all of the characters are thinking and feeling. • Example: The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkein

POINT OF VIEW(CONTINUED) • Alternating Person View – Author moves back and forth between first, second or third POV • Example: Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, New Moon, Flipped

Narrative Mode • The set of methods used by the author to convey plot

Narrative Mode (continued) • Stream of consciousness voice • Almost always first person POV; replicates thought processes

Narrative Mode (continued) • Character Voice • Actual, conscious person is narrating

Narrative Mode (continued) • Unreliable Voice • Non-credible or untrustworthy character is narrator

Narrative Mode (continued) • Epistolary Voice • Series of letters or documents convey plot • Example: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, Diary of A Whimpy Kid

Point of View Exercise • In groups of no more than four people: • Re-create a well-known story using a different POV and/or narrative mode • Fairy tale (e.g., Cinderella, Snow White) • Children’s cartoon (e.g., Toy Story) • Portion of a book (e.g., Invisible Man) • Identify POV used in your new story • Identify narrative modes used in your new story • Present retelling of story to class

Point of View & Narrative Mode