Author

1
Narrative Perspective

• Authors Point of View

2
Dialogue and Narration

• Dialogue when characters speak.
• Narration when the narrator speaks.
• Quotation marks separate narration from
  dialogue.
• Example
• Help my cousin Jack said.
• 1
  2

3
Identifying Narrative Perspective(Point of View)

• It's about the narrator (who tells the story)
• We're not looking at dialogue.
• We don't care what characters say.
• Only the narrator's voice matters.

4
Pronoun Case
We are trying to figure out the narrator's view
point on the story. Perspectives and Signal Words
First-Person I, me, my, mine, we, us, ours
Second-Person you, your
Third-Person he, she, her, they, them (also character's names)
5
This may help you remember

• I am in the room
• I 1st Person
• You come in the room.
• You 2nd Person
• Then he or she came in the room.
• He or She 3rd Person

6
First-Person

• Narrator is a part of the story (character).
• Often uses I or we.
• Example
• I went home. Tim came over. I couldn't play.

7
Second-Person

• Usually for instructions
• Uses You from your perspective.
• Examples
• First, gather your materials. Add 1 cup sugar to
  flour.

8
Third-Person

• Narrator usually isnt involved.
• Tells other's stories.
• Lots of He, She, character names.
• Three Types of Third-Person Narration
• Does the narrator tell
• Thoughts and Feelings of Characters?

9
Third-Person Omniscient

• Narrator is all knowing.
• Narrator tells thoughts and feelings of more than
  one character.
• Omni All Scient Knowing
• Example
• Tim was mad at Shay. He blamed her. Shay knew
  Tim would be mad, but she wanted to live her life.

10
Third-Person Limited

• Narrator is limited to one character.
• Tells thoughts feelings of one character
• Example
• Tim was mad at Shay. He blamed her. Shay just
  left without saying anything. She left a note
  and then left him.

11
Third-Person Objective

• Narrator does not reveal any characters thoughts
  or feelings.
• Only characters dialogue and actions are
  narrated.
• Example
• Tim slammed the door. He walked upstairs read
  a note from Shay. He kicked his trash can
  started crying.

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Tips on Identifying

• Check 1st or 2nd-person before worrying about
  objective, limited, or omniscient.
• Ask, Whos story is the narrator telling his,
  mine, or someone elses?
• Focus on narration not dialogue.

13
POV Practice

1. Read the following passages.
2. Determine the narrators perspective (POV).
3. Write down your answer.

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1

• When I was four months old, my mother died
  suddenly and my father was left to look after me
  all by himself I had no brothers or sisters. So
  through boyhood, from the age of four months
  onward, there was just us two, my father and me.
  We lived in an old gypsy caravan behind a filling
  station
• First person D. Third person omniscient
• Second person E. Third person objective
• Third person limited

15
2

• The huge man dropped his blankets and flung
  himself down and drank from the surface of the
  green pool. The small man stepped behind him.
  "Lennie!" he said sharply. "Lennie, for Gods
  sakes dont drink so much." Lennie continued to
  snort into the pool. The small man leaned over
  and shook him by the shoulder. "Lennie you gonna
  be sick like you was last night." Lennie dipped
  his whole head under, hat and all "Thas good,"
  he said. "You drink some, George." He smiled
  happily.
• First person D. Third person omniscient
• Second person E. Third person objective
• Third person limited

16
3

• The previous night, make your plans for the next
  day and write them down If you attend an
  exclusive Samurais party and feel timid, you
  cannot do your part in making it a successful
  party. You had first better prepare by
  convincing yourself that you will have a grand
  time. And you should feel grateful for the
  invitation.
• First person D. Third person omniscient
• Second person E. Third person objective
• Third person limited

17
4

• Harold Davis took a deep breath and slowly
  started to peel the gauze from the wound on his
  grandmothers leg. Hold on, Grandma. Im
  almost done, He said quietly. Dont worry,
  baby. It doesnt hurt too much, she quietly
  replied. Just take your time. Harold glanced
  up at his grandmother lying on the couch. He
  could tell she was in pain from the way she
  gripped the cushions, but still she managed to
  smile back at him.
• First person D. Third person omniscient
• Second person E. Third person objective
• Third person limited

18
5

• They were standing under a tree, each with an
  arm round the other's neck, and Alice knew which
  was which in a moment, because one of them had
  "DUM" embroidered on his collar, and the other
  "DEE." "I suppose they've each got "TWEEDLE"
  round at the back of the collar," she said to
  herself. They stood so still that she quite
  forgot they were alive, and she was just looking
  round to see if the word "TWEEDLE" was written at
  the back of each collar, when she was startled by
  a voice coming from the one marked "DUM.
• First person D. Third person omniscient
• Second person E. Third person objective
• Third person limited

19
Identifying POV in Picture Books

• With your tablemates, skim through the picture
  book you read last week when we were studying
  conflict.
• What is the POV of your book?
• First person?
• Third person limited?
• Third person omniscient?
• Third person objective?
• If it is in third person, which character(s)
  thoughts and feelings are revealed? (include page
  s)
• Find a passage (one or two sentences) that shows
  the POV.
• Why do you think the author chose this POV?

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Objective

• Common Core Standards
• RL 6 Analyze how differences in the points of
  view of the characters and the audience create
  effects such as suspense or humor.
• RL 1 Cite textual evidence
• By the end of the lesson, each student will be
  able to identify the point of view of the story,
  analyze, and evaluate this perspective in a
  reading response journal entry that will be
  evaluated using a standards-based rubric.

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Thinking Levels
22
First person narrator

• Story is told from the inside narrator is a
  participant in the action
• Narrator is often the protagonist or minor
  character we see only what he/she sees, in the
  way that he/she sees it.
• Advantage You experience the events with the
  narrator, you connect with the narrator, it feels
  natural for the narrator to tell us their
  thoughts and feelings (as if they were talking to
  us)
• Disadvantage  the author (and reader) may be
  frustrated in that he/she can only include things
  that the narrator would be expected to know
  author can only show us thoughts and feelings of
  other characters we are locked within the mind
  of the narrator.

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Third-Person Omniscient

• Omniscient narrator  godlike narrator he/she
  can enter character's minds and know everything
  that is going on, past, present, and future.
• Advantage  very natural technique because the
  author is omniscient regarding his work (they are
  his ideas).
• Disadvantage  unrealistic narrator knows and
  tells all this can only exist in literature.

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Third-Person Limited

• Limited Narrator  third person narration that is
  limited to the point of view of one character in
  the novel may be a protagonist or a minor
  character. Not as common as omniscient.
• Advantage can help create suspense because the
  reader learns things about the other characters
  when the character does
• Disadvantage Can be hard for the writer to
  maintain

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Third-Person Objective

• Objective Narrator  limited narrative, like a
  drama narrator can only describe words and
  actions that can be seen objectively and cannot
  get into character's thoughts
• Advantage forces author to show not tell, can
  be very descriptive
• Disadvantage can seem distant, can make it
  difficult for readers to connect with characters,
  requires a skillful author

26
Point of View Journal Assessment

• Draw a line down the middle of the next available
  page of your composition book. Include these
  headings
• Left Side Text Right Side Response
• Find a passage in your book that reveals the
  point of view of your book. You may need to pick
  more than one passage, especially if your book is
  3rd person omniscient.
• Your passage should not only show the point of
  view, but it should also show the
  advantages/disadvantages of this POV. For
  example, if you think your author chose 1st
  person POV to help us connect to the narrator by
  revealing their thoughts and feelings, find a
  passage in which the narrator is actually telling
  us their thoughts and feelings.

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Point of View Journal Assessment

• Right Side Response Questions
• What is the POV of your book?
• What are the benefits and drawbacks of this POV?
• Why do you think the author chose this POV?
• How would the story be different if it were told
  from a different POV?
• Use specific phrases and details from the passage
  for support.
• How does the point of view of the narrator affect
  how we view the characters? their struggles?
• Why is the story told from a particular point of
  view?
• How does the point of view affect the meaning and
  theme of the story?
• How does it affect our interpretation of the
  story?

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Additional Questions to Consider

• What does the narrator know, and how does she
  know it?
• What does she tell the reader? How does she tell
  it? Why does she tell it?
• What might she be holding back, denying, or
  repressing?
• Why?
• What is the narrator's tone (attitude)? her
  agenda? Is she reliable?
• How does the point of view of the narrator affect
  how we view the characters? their struggles?
• Why is the story told from a particular point of
  view?
• How does the point of view affect the meaning and
  theme of the story?
• How does it affect our interpretation of the
  story?

29
Point of View Journal Example

• Text

• Response

• This passage demonstrates the third-person
  limited point of view that is used in the story.
  The story is told by an outside narrator who
  knows only the thoughts and feelings of Alfred.
  We only learn about Sam Carr through his actions,
  the things they say, and the thoughts that Alfred
  has about him. Although we dont see into Sams
  thoughts, in this passage, he is smiling and
  stroking his face, which would suggest that he is
  quite pleased that he has caught Alfred in the
  act and he is looking forward to seeing what kind
  of punishment awaits. Sams character is
  developed indirectly, while Alfreds character is
  developed both indirectly and directly (shown
  here). This method is effective because it
  allows us to see and understand first-hand how
  Alfred changes from the beginning of the story
  when he is only worried about getting into
  trouble, to the end of the story, when he is
  worried about how his poor choices have affected
  his mothers health and well-being.

• While Sam Carr smiled and stroked the side of
  his face very delicately with the tips of his
  fingers, Alfred began to feel that familiar
  terror growing in him that had been in him every
  time he had got into such trouble (Callaghan,
  1).

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Point of View Journal Example

• Text

• Response

• This passage demonstrates the third-person
  omniscient point of view of the story. The
  narrator knows the thoughts and feelings of
  Victor, who is worried that Mr. Bueller will say
  something in front of Teresa about his terrible
  attempt at pretending to know French. We also
  know the feelings of Mr. Bueller, who is
  sympathetic to what Victor is going through.
  This point of view is effective because even
  though the focus of the story is Victor, this
  scene also tells us a lot about Mr. Bueller. The
  reader, and Victor discover that he is a pretty
  good guy who understands what his students are
  going through. So while 7th grade can seem so
  scary, Victor learns that it isnt all bad.

• Oh please, dont say anything, Victor pleaded
• with his eyes. Ill wash your car, mow your
• lawn, walk your dog--anything! I'll be
• Your best student, and Ill clean your
• erasers after school. Mr. Bueller
• shuffled through the papers on his
• desk, He smiled and hummed as he
• sat down to work. He remembered
• his college years when he dated a
• girlfriend in borrowed cars. She
• thought he was rich because each time he
• picked her up he had a different car. It was
• fun until he had spent all his money on her
• and had to write home to his parents because
• he was broke (Soto, 7).