Discussion of POV and Richard Ford's Reunion, SFCC, Spring 2019

1. Point of View
 The decision an author makes regarding who is telling the story
 First person POV (I/we)
 Second person (you)
 Third person (he/she/they)

2. First Person POV
 First person creates a “narrator” in the story. This can be either a:
 Central narrator
 Peripheral narrator
In either case, a first-person narrator is not omniscient; he or she is a
character with the same limitations of knowledge and character as
other characters.
A first person narrator may be entirely unreliable, or unreliable in certain
aspects of his or her perspective

3. Second Person POV
 Second-person POV is less common and difficult to maintain in a
story—you know what I mean?
 Second person exists when a character in the story is designated as
“you.”
 Is a distancing technique in narrative
 Is a way of implying a universal condition

4. Third-person POV
 In third-person POV, the author tells the story, and can do so from
different perspectives:
 Unlimited or Omniscient: The thoughts of all characters and larger
context can be shown
 Limited: The perspective of one or some characters or events are
known; others are not

5. Potential points of confusion
 POV and dialogue.
 “I know what you mean,” I said.
 “I know what you mean,” Susie said.”
 “You know what I mean?” I asked.
 “You know what you mean,” Susie asked. “But I don’t.”
The point of this is that POV is identified by the narrative pronouns, but
not the pronouns within dialogue.

6. Potential Points of Technical
Challenge
 First person narrative can often feel the easiest in which to establish
“voice.” Writing in first person can feel natural, most of us do it, and
the easiest point of contact for establishing narrative voice.
 However, this can create more technical challenge for establishing
the voices of characters.
 Limited and unlimited third person carries the challenge of
establishing the voice of the story versus voices of other characters.

7. Audience
To whom is the story told?
• The reader (most common, and often not stated)
• Another character (for example: In epistolary fiction)
• To a fictional self (as in the conceit of a diary)

8. Choosing a Form
 Learning a character’s POV through a letter will take on a different
flavor than hearing it in dialogue
 Entering a character’s interior thoughts will create a different
impression than hearing him or her speak
 Will the narrator directly address the reader (18th century fiction)

9. Tone and Distance
 Regardless of POV, the author must make a decision about how
close or far the reader should be from the characters.
 An omniscient narrator may provide more distance from the
characters’ feelings than a first person narrative.
 With a first-person narrator, however, we are stuck inside that
perspective, and it can be challenging to show the reader that
which the narrator doesn’t realize.
 Unreliable narrators also can require distinguishing what we are
learning from the narrator versus our reading of the narrator
 The more abstract and objective the use of description, the more
distance is created for the reader. But this can be effective when it’s
intentional.

10. Control and Consistency
 While an author can choose any POV, consistency is important. A
narrative written in the first person should not suddenly also include
the limited third person POV of another character.

11. “Reunion” by Richard Ford
 What POV?
 How would you describe the voice of the narrator?
 What’s his name?
 What is the story about?
 What is the story about about?

12. Direct Characterization
 P. 300: “It’s really odd,” isn’t it? Beth said, stirring her long almost
pure-white finger around the surface of her Kir Royale, staring not
at me but at the glass rim where the pink liquid nearly exceeded its
vitreous limits.”

13. Direct Characterization
 P. 303: “Well,” Mack Bolger said. “Good.” His voice was the one you
would use to speak t someone in line beside you at the post office,
someone you’d never see again. Though there was also, just barely
noticeable, a hint of what we used to call juiciness in his speech,
some minor indispensable moisture in his cheek that one head in
his s’s and f’s.”

14. Sense of Place
 What intrinsic value does the train station have as a setting here?
 What role does St. Louis play?
 If NY is a character in the story, what is its role?

15. This story as a tribute
 Ford wrote “Reunion” in part as deference to a story by John
Cheever of the same name, a very short story. Both of these stories
appeared originally in the New Yorker. Let’s listen to Ford read
Cheever’s story and discuss both.

16. POV and Setting Exercise
 With a dash of influence writing:
 Write your own “Reunion” story. Use the setting from Monday’s
exercise. Now, put two characters running into one another in the
setting for their own “Reunion.” Their meeting should have some
significance behind it.
 Write in first person POV from the point of view of one of the
characters: try to use all the forms of direct characterization: action,
appearance, thought and dialogue.

17. Monday, Feb. 25
 We will discuss the EL Doctorow story “What’s Buried on the Farm”
you read for today and have small group analysis work on
characterization, setting and POV.
 Please also read (link on Canvas), this interview with Doctorow
about the story. ”What’s Buried on the Farm.”
 We will also begin our unit on plot and scenes