Reading and Language, Point of View

1. Point of View
is a literary term which relates to who
the narrator in a work is, from what
voice or angle of vision or perspective
a story or other literary work is told.Is

2. Point of View is not Opinion
Because the phrase “point of view” also can mean
“opinion” (as in “Bill had a different point of view”)
some readers have trouble understanding what the
phrase means in literary terms.
When we discuss POV, we are not really talking about
what an author’s theme or opinion is. We are simply
identifying who the narrator is and what that voice’s
relation to a story is.

3. Questions to ask
When you are thinking about a story’s point of
view, the first question to be asked is “who is
telling the story?” or “Who is the narrator?” or
“From whose angle of vision is the story told?”

4. Point of View Types
1st person: the narrator is a character in the
story and speaks with the
pronoun “I” to narrate.
3rd person: the narrator is distanced from the
story and speaks with a more
impersonal voice using the
pronouns “she,” “he,” or “they”

5. Types of 3rd person POV
3rd person omniscient**: the narrator seems
to know everything about every character, all
their thoughts, motivations, and feelings.
Frequently this narrative “voice” is assumed
to be that of the story’s author. But authors
do not always intend for us to make that
assumption. Most frequently, this narrative
voice is simply “unlocatable” and cannot
really be clearly identified.
**“Omniscient” means “all knowing” (omni = all)

6. 3rd person limited: the narrator knows the
thoughts, motivations, and feelings of a
limited number of characters, not of all
characters. Most commonly, the narrator
shows us the story’s action through the
consciousness of only one character.

7. 3rd person dramatic: The story is laid out
before readers like a drama and has no
narrator. Instead, the characters move about
and speak to one another as though on
stage, and we learn from watching their
actions and listening to their words.
We are not given the characters’ thoughts nor are we
told their motivations for speaking and acting as
they do. Stories by Ernest Hemingway frequently
use the 3rd person dramatic point of view. Review
“Hills Like White Elephants” for an example.
These stories often rely heavily on dialogue.

8. Types of Narrators
One important question to ask about any
narrator is whether he or she is reliable or
unreliable.
Just as we “consider the source” when we are
told real life stories, we should also
consider the source when we read literature!
In other words, we should consciously judge
the character of any narrator.

9. Reliable narrator: this narrator seems to be
trustworthy, aware of what is true and
untrue, and we believe that the narrator not
only knows the truth but is also sharing it
with readers.
Usually, we trust a 3rd person omniscient
narrator to be knowledgeable and truthful.

10. Unreliable narrator: Narrators can be
unreliable because they are not trustworthy.
A narrator may be a liar or may show
evidence of such bias that we come to
distrust that narrative voice. A narrator
could even be insane. Do you trust all of
Edgar Allan Poe’s narrators? Many of them
are 1st person narrators. Because they are so
involved in the story, they may not be
perceiving events or other characters
accurately. Or they may have a reason for
withholding the truth.

11. Naïve narrator: a narrator can be unreliable
because he or she just does not understand
events, even though he or she may be the
narrative voice whom we must depend upon
to tell us the story. For example, a child
might be naïve, or a mentally retarded
narrator might misconstrue events and the
actions, even words, of other characters.

12. One famous example of a naïve narrator is found in
William Faulkner’s novel The Sound and the Fury.
There, the first section of the story is shown through the
consciousness of Benjy, a 33-year-old man who has the
mental capacity of a 5-year-old child. He also lacks a
clear sense of time. Tension is established in the story
when readers begin to understand that Benjy, the
narrator upon whom they are depending, is naïve, i.e.,
does not understand the import of all he sees or of what
other characters say. Though this early section of the
novel is filtered through Benjy’s sensibility, readers are
left to decipher on their own the actual events, times,
and meanings.

13. Questions about POV
 What is the point of view in this work?
 Is the narrator reliable?
 If the narrator is unreliable, why do I think so?
 How does the author’s choice of narrator affect
the story?
 How would the story differ if another narrator or
voice were used, i.e., a 3rd person narrative were
changed to 1st person, or vice versa? Or what if
a different character were made the narrator?

14. Some examples to consider:
Dee narrates “Everyday Use.”
Asalamalakim narrates. Maggie narrates.
--------------------------------------------------
Aminadab narrates “The Birthmark.”
Mrs. Snopes narrates “Barn Burning.”

15. Other Variations on POV
 Interior Monologue: perspective comes
from within one character’s mind and
readers are aware of that character’s
thoughts.
 Stream of Consciousness: perspective
comes from within one character’s mind
and readers are aware of that character’s
thoughts, feelings, perceptions.

16. Variations continued . . .
Notice that the difference in the terms is that
one relates to thoughts only while another
includes feelings and perceptions.
Some critics consider “stream of
consciousness” and “interior monologue” as
interchangeable.
However. . . .

17. However, continued . . . .
Other critics make a clear distinction between
thoughts and feelings/perceptions.
These latter critics consider that interior
monologue respects syntax (word order)
and grammatical form, but stream of
consciousness does not, being intended to
show “a direct quotation of the mind”
(Bowling, qtd in Prince 92.) Thus “stream”
often lacks punctuation, uses neologisms,
and pays little heed to grammatical form.

18. Importance of Point of View
Point of View is one of the most important
decisions an author makes in creating a
story. Who will tell the story? Which
characters do we as readers understand
best? How does the point of view prejudice
us for or against characters in a story?

19. For more information
Works Cited
“Stream of Consciousness.” Dictionary of Narratology. Gerald
Prince, ed. Lincoln: U of Nebraska P, 1987.

20. CREDITS
Developed and prepared by Dr. Linda
Lovell
NorthWest Arkansas Community
College
http://faculty.nwacc.edu/ljlovell