Point of View - who is telling the story?
Point of view can be thought of as what angle you are viewing the story from. Are you looking directly through someone else's eyes? Are you flying over a city where you can see everything and know what everyone is thinking? Does it feel as if you are experiencing the action right next to the narrator?
1st Person
First person point of view can be quickly identified through the use of the pronoun "I." In this narrative mode, the action is limited to what the narrator knows. The reader cannot know what any other characters are thinking or feeling because the narrator does not know what others are experiencing.
2nd Person
Second person narration is very rare. Identified by the use of "you," the author writes to the reader as if the reader were experiencing the events right alongside the narrator. This is almost as if the narrator is pointing out to you which things to look at or pay attention to.
3rd Person Limited
Third person point of view is characterized by the use of "they," "them," "he," "she," etc. In this point of view, the narrator knows what all of the characters are doing, but may not know how the action is going to play out, or what all of the characters feel. The narrator may be limited, or biased, toward the views of only one or two characters.
Omnicient Narroator
The omniscient narrator knows all. Similar to 3rd person limited, this style of narration includes words such as "they," them," "he," and "she," but this narrator knows exactly what each character is thinking and feeling, and usually how the story will unfold. Reading a passage in this narrative mode would be like standing on a tall building and being able to see thought bubbles on top of everyone's heads revealing what they are thinking.
Can you identify the point of view in the following passages?
While you're reading, think about the following questions:
Passage 1:
What point of view is the passage written in? How do you know?
Extra: What is different about this narrator? Can you tell who it is?
Howe, J. (1983). Bunnicula. New York, New York: Macmillan Company.
Passage 2:
What point of view is this passage in? How is it different or the same as the first passage?
Lewis, C. (1950). The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. New York, NY: Haper Collins.
Passage 1:
What point of view is the passage written in? How do you know?
Extra: What is different about this narrator? Can you tell who it is?
Howe, J. (1983). Bunnicula. New York, New York: Macmillan Company.
Passage 2:
What point of view is this passage in? How is it different or the same as the first passage?
Lewis, C. (1950). The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. New York, NY: Haper Collins.
Back to Top
