Point of View
Recognise that the point of view in a literary text influences how readers interpret and respond to events and characters.
Read this first
Who tells the story changes what you are allowed to know.
Words you need
- Point of view
- Who is telling the story.
- First person
- The narrator is in the story. Uses I and we.
- Third person
- The narrator is outside it. Uses he, she and they.
- Narrator
- The voice telling the story.
Worked example
e.g. I knew she was lying, but I said nothing. Whose point of view is this?
- Look at the pronouns. Here they are I and she.
- I tells you the narrator is inside the story.
- So this is first person.
- Now ask what that lets you know.
- You get the narrator's thoughts. I knew proves it.
- But you cannot know what she is thinking.
- That is the trade. Close to one mind, shut out of the rest.
Check the pronouns. Then ask what the reader is shut out of.
Practice
Find the pronouns, then ask what is hidden.
1She opened the door slowly. Which point of view?with a picture
AnswerThird person.
2Which pronoun signals first person?with a picture
AnswerI.
3In first person, can you know what other characters think?with a hint
Need a hint?
Whose head are you in?
AnswerNo. Only what they say and do.
4Why might a writer choose first person for a mystery?with a hint
Need a hint?
What can the reader not see?
AnswerThe reader only knows what the narrator knows. That hides clues.
5Rewrite in third person: I ran to the gate.on your own
AnswerHe ran to the gate.
6What does third person let a writer do that first person cannot?on your own
AnswerShow what several characters think and feel.
Think about it
1
A narrator says a character is cruel. Must you believe it?
One good answerNo. Narrators can be biased or wrong. That is worth noticing.
2
Why does point of view change how you feel about a character?
One good answerYou side with whoever's thoughts you can hear.
Common mistakes
First person means the story is true.
It does not. I can be a made-up character.
Point of view is just about pronouns.
Pronouns are the clue. What matters is what the reader is allowed to know.