Point of View

A story

is told through the eyes of a

character or narratorthis is the point
of view.

Point of view
The

author makes a deliberate choice in

which point of view to use.
The point of view influences the plot. It
affects how much information and the
type of information that is revealed to
the audience.

First Person POV

The

narrator is a character in the story.

Uses first person pronouns (I, we, me,
my, our)
We learn the characters thoughts,
feelings, actions and words.
May be unreliable or inaccurate

First Person Example

The truth was, I was sorry not to have started
school the year before. In my innocence I
had imagined going to school meant certain
privileges worthy of all my brothers and
sisters complaints. The fact that my lung
infection in my fifth and sixth year, mistakenly
diagnosed as TB, earned me some reprieve,
only made me long for school the more.

Third Person Limited POV

Narrator

is not a character in the story.

The narrator tells the story from one
characters vantage pointwe find out
what this one character thinks, feels etc.
The narrator is limited to only that
characters perspective. (Hence the
name 3rd Person Limited)
Uses third person pronouns (he, him,
she, her, they, them)

Third Person Limited Example

Hecuba had dreamed that the tiny
Paris, who lay so quietly in her arms at
this moment, had turned into a burning
torch that set all Troy aflame. The old
woman, a dream prophet, had then said
that a terrible end would come to Troy if
the baby were allowed to live.

3 Person Omniscient POV

rD

The

narrator is all-knowing.
The author can enter the minds of the
characters and can describe what all
characters are thinking and feeling.

3 Person Omniscient Example

rd

Colleen gazed longingly out the window,

noticing the blue sky and bright sun.
She sighed wistfullya perfect day out.
Next to her, Michael fidgeted in his seat
feeling restless. He wondered how time
could move so slowly. Mrs Howell knew
she was fighting a losing battle. She
breathed a sigh of relief as the final bell
rang signalling the start of summer
vacation.

3rd Person Objective Narrator

The

narrator never enters a

characters mind
Records only what is seen and heard
(like a hidden camera)
Allows inferences to be made by the
readers

3 Person Objective Example

rd

It was a record-breaking snow fall. The

wind gusts blew violently, swirling the
snow around and making visibility
nearly impossible. A red car slowly
inched out of the driveway and
proceeded down the roads, slick with
ice. As the car approached the stop
sign, the driver slowed down.

Your Turnwhat point of view?

For a moment, my mother seemed to
hesitate. Her mouth softened and a
line deepened between her eyebrows.
We stepped in the night and started
walking down the mountain in the
direction of town, 10 km away.

And the answer is

First Person Point of View!

What point of view?

So far so good, Jake thought. This
girl was bugged by cursing and
smoking. He had news for her. He
intended to do a whole lot of both.
He took a long drag on his cigarette
and blew the smoke at her again.
She turned away and moved down
to the other end of the porch steps.

And the answer is

Third Person Limited

What point of view?

His mind seasawed miserably to and
from between the opposite and
irreconcilable facts, and he found
himself hating Peri for having had the
stupid brilliant idea in the first place.

And the answer is

Third Person Limited

What point of view?

The house had that neglected
air, as if no one had stepped
foot inside for years. The paint
was peeling, the garden
overgrown and a pile of
yellowing newspapers blocked
the entrance to the front door.

And the answer is

3rd Person Objective

What point of view?

Kate gave Jeff Hedges, her arch
nemesis, a withering glance. The top
math student in the class, he never
missed an opportunity to embarrass
Kate or put her down. Only that day
he had made a fool of her by
deliberately drawing the teachers
attention to her when he knew she
wasnt listening.

And the answer is

3rd Person Omniscient

What point of view?

The last thing I wanted to do on my
summer break was to blow up another
school. But there I was Monday
morning, the first week of June, sitting
in my moms car in front of Goode
High School on East 81 St. Staring up
at the fancy stone archway, I wondered
how long it would take me to get
kicked out of this place.

And the answer is

First Person Point of View!

Acknowledgements

Text excerpts taken from: The Westing Game

by Ellen Raskin; The Battle of the Labyrinth
by Rick Riordan; Coffee, Snacks, Worms by
Karleen Bradford; The Jade Peony by
Wayson Choy; Paris and the Golden Apple by
Eth Clifford; And the Lucky Winner is by
Monica Hughes; The Leaving by Budge
Wilson