Who is Telling the Story?

1. Point of View Who is Telling the Story?

2. There are three common points of view used in fictional writing. • First Person • Third Person Limited • Third Person Omniscient

3. First Person Point of View In the first person point of view, the narrator participates in the action of the story. The narrator is a character who tells the story based on what they see, hear or feel. Uses I, me, we, us, our

4. Example passage-First Person If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you’ll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of stuff, but I don’t feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth. In the first place, that stuff bores me, and in the second place, my parents would have about two hemorrhages apiece if I told anything pretty personal about them. -J.D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye

5. Third Person Point of View In the third person point of view, the narrator does not participate in the action. Uses he, him, they, them, she, her

6. There are two different types of third person point of view: Limited - Narrator can see into ONE character’s mind. Omniscient - All knowing…the narrator can see into the minds of all characters

7. Example passage-Third Person Limited Brian rubbed his stomach. The hunger had been there but something else—fear, pain—had held it down. Now, with the thought of the burger, the emptiness roared at him. He could not believe the hunger, had never felt it this way. The lake water had filled his stomach but left it hungry, and now it demanded food, screamed for food. - Gary Paulson, Hatchet

8. Example passage-Third Person Omniscient Tonight’s Most Valuable Player is . . . Didi Blake!” Didi could hardly believe it! Her coach and teammates were not surprised, though. They knew how hard she had worked. Didi would have been even more excited if she had known what was in store for her the following week.