Point of View and Perspective

1. Point of View and Perspective

2. Perspective is… • a character’s view or outlook • Ex.) Greg Ridley thinks his dad is being unfair when he won’t let him play basketball because he has a poor math grade. • the point of view of a story • Ex.) The “Treasure of Lemon Brown” is written in 3rd person limited.

3. Point of View--Review • First Person: • Narrator IS a character in the story. • Uses pronouns such as I, me, we, us, etc. to tell the story—inside and outside of dialogue. • Reader gets to know this character very well. • Reader knows only what the character tells him/her.

4. “Corrina, Corrina” by Bob Dylan • I got a bird that whistlesI got a bird that singsBut I ain’ a-got CorrinaLife don’t mean a thing

5. First Person Text Example • Bran was up to something I knew it the first day he showed me the house. He was speeding ahead of me on his bike, while I struggled and sweated behind him, huffing and puffing because even after three months in Florida I still wasn’t used to the heat. I didn’t know how Bran could be either, but my brother seemed to do everything right, even if it meant not sweating in 90-degree heat, with 90-percent humidity. Then suddenly he slammed on his brakes.

6. Point of View--Review • 3rd Person Omniscient— • Narrator is outside of the story—not a character • Uses pronouns such as he, she, them, their, they, etc. • Knows everything about all the characters, even their private thoughts • Knows the past, present, and future of the story, as well as what is happening everywhere in it

7. The Royal Tenenbaums

8. 3rd Person Omniscient Text Ex. Everybody called Jessie’s mother “the midwife,” but she did a lot more than deliver babies. In Clifton, anyone who got sick at night called on her. Most people, Jessie thought, seemed to wait until dark to get sick, so they wouldn’t have to go to Dr. Fister. Dr. Fister always gave prescriptions like “Make a poultice of chokberries and rub it on your neck three times a day.” He made a real show of it. He used to slip a packet of pills under the table too—pills that really worked. Anymore, though, he just gave the folk remedy. Jessie hadn’t seen any of the real pills in a long time. “Can I come help,” Jessie asked Ma. “I don’t want you catching anything….”

9. Point of View--Review • 3rd Person Limited— • Narrator is outside of story—not a character • Uses pronouns such as he, she, them, their, they, etc. • The narrator zooms in on the thoughts and feelings of just one character. • The narrator plays no part in the story and has limited knowledge of it.

10. 3rd Person Limited Example • Laurie Saunders sat in the publications office at Gordon High School chewing on the end of a Bic pen. She was a pretty girl with short light-brown hair and an almost perpetual smile that only disappeared when she was upset or chewing on Bic pens. Lately she’d been chewing on a log of pens. In fact, there wasn’t a single pen or pencil in her pocketbook that wasn’t worn down on the butt end from nervous gnawing. Still, it beat smoking.

11. Point of View--Review • Objective • Factual • Free from opinion—can be checked/verified • Like a photograph: Presents only observable details

12. Objective Example • When the officers arrived to the scene, they first surveyed the premises. They noted each element in the home that was overturned or out of place. Next, they interviewed the home owner to find out what was missing. The head detective listed the following items in his file: one forty-three inch flat-screen television, one Macintosh laptop, one Dell desktop computer, three gold rings, four pairs of diamond earrings, $300 cash, two checkbooks, and one Visa debit card. After interviewing the owner, the detectives requested that the forensic team dust the home for fingerprints.

13. Point of View--Review • Subjective • Opinion-based • Includes thoughts, feelings, and biases • Like a painting: Open to interpretation

14. Subjective Example • When I came home from a lovely dinner with a friend, I knew something was awry because my living room light was on, and I’m a real conservation-nut, so I never leave the lights on when I’m not home. I crept inside the house as a feeling of dread swept over me, and then I saw it, my beautiful living room was destroyed! It looked like a tornado had hit my house. I couldn’t believe it; I had been robbed! All of my beautiful jewelry was missing, including the dazzling diamond earrings that have been passed down in my family for many generations. Even worse, my two computers with hours and hours worth of precious, priceless work were missing. “I’ll never be able to replace all of that work!” I thought to myself.

15. Making Fiends: Differences in Perspective • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nbo4ubzPuys