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Learn about the different types of point of view and their impact on character development in essays and papers. Explore the role of narrators and speakers, and examine their connection to the author. Understand how characters affect readers through empathy, antipathy, and pathos.
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Some Terms you Should know how to use in an essay/paper. Point of View and Character
Point of View • Grammatical Person • --1st person (I) -- Main character tells story. Or, a minor character tells the main character’s story • --2nd person (You) --
Point of View • Third Person (he or she) • --Omniscient -- knows everything about everybody • --Limited Omniscient -- knows everything about some people or one person • --Objective -- reports only what can be observed
Focalization • To determine whether your story is omniscient, limited omniscient or objective, hone in on the focus of the narrator. Whose head can the narrator peer into? In “The Oriental Contingent” it’s only Connie. In “A Loaf of Bread, it shifts between characters. In an objective story, the narrator can only report on what has been seen. S/he doesn’t know what anybody is thinking.
Narrators • You have to ask questions about the narrator, too, in order to understand Point of View and Focalization. • Is the narrator reliable? • Is the narrator intrusive or unintrusive?
Narrators/Speakers and Authors • Is the narrator identified with the author? • Has the author created a narrator different from him or herself? • How does the author use the narrator? Ironically? Comically? To create an aura? As in wise old age speaking to youth, for example?
Character • Major/Minor • Dynamic/Static • Foil
Affects of Characters on Readers • Empathy--creates a connection • antipathy--dislike, aversion, distrust • pathos--appealing to the heart, makes you wanna’ cry.
Character Development • Motivation for Change. If the character is dynamic, does the story provide enough evidence for the changes that take place? • Does enough time pass?
Application: • Look at Erdrich’s story on page 448. • Point of View? Focalization? • Narrator? Reliable? Intrusive? • Connection of Narrator/Speaker/Author? • Major/Minor Characters? • Affect on Reader? Empathy, Antipathy, Pathos?