The Short Story Point of View

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The Short StoryPoint of View

• Prepared by Linda Eder
• Hazelwood Central High School

Teacher information
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The point of view in a work of literature is
determined by the narrator, that is, the person
telling the story. This narrator may be the
author or a character in the story, book, play,
or poem.
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If the narrator is a character in the story, this
is first person point of view. One way to
recognize this is the use of the pronoun I by
the narrator. This is similar to hearing a
person tell you about what happened to them
personally, or what they saw happen first hand.
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If the author is telling the story, this is known
as third person point of view. This is
characterized by the use of she, he, they,
etc. There are two types of third person points
of view.
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If the author relates the events of the story
from the perspective of only one character, this
is known as third person limited point of view.
The reader can see into the mind of only one
person. If the author relates the events of the
story from the perspective of several characters,
this is known as third person omniscient point of
view. The reader is privy to the thoughts of
several, or even all, of the characters.
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Read the following excerpts. Decide which point
of view is used in each one and record it in your
notebooks. Then compare the different
impressions you get from the same event. Record
these impressions in your notebooks.
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A Mr. Johnson looked at Charles sternly. He
simply didnt know what to do with this boy.
Charles had been in Mr. Johnsons office twice
earlier this week. Now here he was again, and
this time he was charged with something much more
serious. Mr. Johnson shook his head. There
really was no doubt in his mind. Charles was
guilty. He looked at the police officer standing
next to Charles. No question whatsoever--Charles
had done it.
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B I cant believe what is happening to me. I
know that Ill never convince Mr. Johnson and the
cop that I had nothing to do with this. Man! I
didnt do it. Why wont anyone believe me? Ive
been in trouble before, but Ive never done
anything like this! Ive got to convince them,
or I might as well kiss my life good-bye.
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C Officer Wiley looked at Charles and scratched
his head. All the evidence pointed to Charless
guilt, but the officer just couldnt be sure.
Mr. Johnson, on the other hand, knew that Charles
was guilty as sin. His numerous brushes with
authority in the past left no question in his
mind at all. Charles hung his head, knowing that
this time he would not be able to talk his way
out of trouble.
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D When I saw them taking Charlie into the office,
I lingered outside the door, hoping to find out
what he had done this time. Charlie was my best
friend, but I was getting a little tired of
defending him when I knew he was wrong. He must
have done something really big this time to have
the cops involved.
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Share your findings with your classmates.
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Excerpt A was Third Person Limited. The author,
not a character, is telling the story. We can
see only what Mr. Johnson is thinking. We know
what Mr. Johnson thinks, but we do not know what
the officer or Charles thinks. We also do not
know whether or not Charles is really guilty.
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Excerpt B is an example of First Person Point of
View. Charles, a character in the story, is
telling us what happened to him. We know that
Charles is innocent.
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Excerpt C is an example of Third Person
Omniscient Point of View. The author is telling
the story, but we can see what Officer Wiley,
Charles, and Mr. Johnson are thinking. We know
that Mr. Johnson believes Charles is guilty, but
Officer Wiley has doubts. We still are not sure
whether or not Charles is guilty.
continue
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Excerpt D is an example of First Person Point of
View. A friend, one of the characters in the
story, is narrating. Since he does not know
whether or not Charles is guilty, neither do we.
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