Point of View and The Hunger Games

Name _______________________________

Point of view is a literary term that means the perspective from which the story is told.
First Person Point of View
First Person POV is a story told in the narrating characters own voice. It uses I throughout, and the
reader doesnt know any more than the character tells us, so this perspective is limited. The reader
knows only the thoughts and feelings of the narrating character and must infer the thoughts and feelings
of other characters by the way they act or by what they say. First person POV makes a story feel quite
personal because it feels as though the narrator is speaking directly to the reader.
The Hunger Games is told in first person POV. How does the authors use of first person POV
affect the readers experience with the story? (Hint: What do we know? What dont we know?)
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Third Person Limited Point of View
Third person is the familiar he said/she said story.
A limited POV keeps the narration to what one character in the story sees or knows. Since the story is
told from only one characters perspective, the point of view is limited. The reader knows only the
thoughts and feelings of this one character and must infer what other characters are thinking or feeling
by the way they act or by what they say. This POV is similar to first person POV, but it is less personal.
Lets say The Hunger Games was written in a third person limited POV from Peetas perspective.
How would this POV affect the readers experience with the story? (Hint: What would we know?
What wouldnt we know?)
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Third Person Omniscient Point of View

An omniscient (all-knowing) POV lets the author dip into the heads of various characters. The reader is
told the thoughts and feelings of many characters, so the reader does not have to infer what they may be
thinking or feeling. The omniscient point of view takes much of the guess work out of the reading
experience. This can be good in some ways, but it can have drawbacks in that the story is less personal.
Lets say The Hunger Games was written in a third person omniscient POV. How would this
POV affect the readers experience with the story? (Hint: What would we know? What wouldnt
we know?)
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Why do you think the author chose to tell The Hunger Games in first person POV?
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If you were the author of this story, would you have written it in a different POV? If so, what
point of view would you have chosen and why? If you would not change the POV, explain why.
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