1. POINT OF VIEW is the lens through which
readers look at the world. It’s the way the author allows you to
"see" and know what's going on. Authors focus the reader’s
attention on the detail, opinion, or emotion they want the reader to
notice with the point of view of the story.
There are three forms:
First-person point of view is when a character narrates the story with the pronouns
I-me-my-mine. The reader gets to hear the thoughts of the narrator and see the world
through his or her eyes. This makes the story more emotional and personal because the
main character is sharing his or her story.
Example: The story you’re about to read, “The White Umbrella” by Gish Jen, is about a
twelve-year-old, Chinese girl who is also the narrator. This is her story because it is an
event in her life through which she is allowing the reader to know her inner thoughts,
feelings, and motivations because she is telling them to the reader.
Second-person point of view is when the author is the narrator and uses the
pronouns you and your. This form is rare because authors hardly ever speak directly to
the reader. The purpose of second-person point of view is to engage the reader and make
him or her feel like a participant in the story.
Example: “The White Umbrella” could’ve been written in second-person point of view, if
the author was trying to draw in the reader to the story by using the pronoun you in place
of I. The author is narrating a story about you, the reader, making it sound as if the events
happened to you instead of a character. Again, this technique is rarely used.
Third-person point of view is the telling of the story from an outsider’s
perspective. There are actually two forms of third-person point of view. There’s third-
person omniscient1 – which is used so the thoughts of every character are known to the
reader and there’s third-person limited- which is used so the reader enters only one
character's mind. The third-person limited point of view is different from first-person
because the story is told through the author rather than the character.
Example: If “The White Umbrella” was written in third-person omniscient, then the
narrator wouldn’t be a participant in the story. Instead the narrator would be an outsider
looking in, sharing the inner thoughts and feelings of all the characters with the reader.
If “The White Umbrella” was written in third-person limited point of view, the
narrator would still be an outsider looking in, but he or she would only be able to
understand and share the inner thoughts and feelings of one specific character.
1
Omniscient: all-knowing
Ms. Katelyn Spalding, University of Louisville