English 12.2, Ms.

Meyer

POINT OF VIEW IN FICTION

Point of view is essentially the eyes through which a story is told. It is the narrative voice through
which readers follow the story's plot, meet its characters, discover its setting, and enter into its
atmosphere, relationships, emotions, and conflicts.

The chosen point of view has a strong effect on the reader; for example, we tend to respond more
sympathetically to a character whose mind we “enter”, as we experience for ourselves what the
character goes through. In the course of many stories the point of view changes to make reading
more interesting.

Examples = a scene from the classic story Hansel and Gretel told in the relevant POV. Italics are used to show
the places the narrator conveys knowledge of a character’s thoughts or feelings.

general example pros and cons

THIRD PERSON • is the he/she/it/they
OMNISCIENT perspective
• narrator is all-knowing =
• narrator knows all of the
thoughts and feelings of
ALL the characters and
situations in the story
• narrator is not part of
the story
• can shift perspective
• no bias or preference
• narration which may
include thoughts of all
characters, and direct
speech used
“Hansel walked ahead of
Gretel; after all, he knew
he belonged in the front
because Gretel was just a
girl. Gretel dropped
breadcrumbs behind her as
she went, knowing that her
bumbling brother couldn’t
be counted on to find his
way home from the
outhouse, let alone from
the middle of the woods.
Ahead of them, an old
witch waited, her stomach
rumbling at the thought of
what a delicious dinner the
two plump children would
make.”
+ isn’t tied to what a
single character sees
or experiences
+ writer can take the
reader to any scene in
the story and reveal as
much – or as little – of
the story as needed
+ gives the writer most
flexibility and the
reader most insight
but
− writer may come
between her reader
and her story by
offering too many
interpretations of
events

THIRD PERSON • is the he/she/it/they “Hansel walked ahead of + makes the story much
LIMITED perspective Gretel. Gretel dropped more personal
breadcrumbs behind her as − can be very biased and
• story is limited to one she went, knowing that her unreliable since we
character’s experiences, bumbling brother couldn’t only know that this
and the narrator tells be counted on to find his
the story through this one character
way home from the
perceives and believes
one character’s eyes outhouse, let alone from
and mind the middle of the woods.” − other characters
appear only in the
• the narrator only relates interpretation of the
his or her own thoughts, Notice that the mention of character’s
feelings, and knowledge the witch is gone, since
perspective
of various situations and Gretel has no knowledge of
her at this point.
other characters
• narrator is not part of
the story
 OBJECTIVE • is the he/she/it/they
perspective
• story is narrated by the
author as if he is a mere
spectator of
events (like a roving
movie camera)
• contains no references
to thoughts or feelings;
it only reports what can
be seen and heard
• neutral
FIRST PERSON • is the I/we perspective.
• moves the narration
completely into the
interior of one character
• In this kind of narrative,
you are inside a
character’s head/body,
watching the story
unfold through that
character’s eyes.
• the story is told by the
character directly,
author as intervening
narrator is completely
eliminated
• narrator is part of the
story
• subjective
SECOND PERSON • is the you perspective.
• told in the voice of the
onlooker, which is you,
the reader.
• used mainly in
instructional writing and
rarely in fiction
• neutral
Sources:
https://study.com/academy/lesson/point-of-view-in-fiction-first-person-third-person-more.html
https://letthewordsflow.wordpress.com/2010/12/20/point-of-view-first-person-third-person-or-objective/
https://www.thebalancecareers.com/the-second-person-point-of-view-in-fiction-writing-1277131
https://www.grammarly.com/blog/first-second-and-third-person/
“Hansel walked ahead of
Gretel. Gretel dropped
breadcrumbs behind her as
she went.
Ahead of them, an old
witch waited.”
Notice that none of the
passage is italicized, because
all of it is action, and no
thoughts or feelings are
included at all.
“Hansel walked ahead of
me. I made sure I dropped
breadcrumbs behind me as
I went, since my bumbling
brother couldn’t be
counted on to find his way
home from the outhouse,
let alone from the middle
of the woods.”
Notice that the entire
passage is italicized, because
all of it is Gretel’s thoughts.
“Hansel walks in front of
you. You drop
breadcrumbs behind you
as you go because you
don’t trust your brother
finding the way home.
You’re getting nervous–is
that a gingerbread smell on
the breeze?”
+ offers the most speed
and action
+ allows the reader to
form his or her own
opinions
− doesn’t allow the
writer any room to
interpret events at all
− only action and
dialogue are used and
reader needs to do all
the interpretation
+ adds extra immediacy
to the story and makes
the character’s “voice”
much more discernible
− no interpretation of
the character in any
way that the character
is not personally
aware
− can be very biased and
unreliable since we
only know that this
one character
perceives and believes
− other characters
appear only in the
interpretation of the
character’s
perspective
− reader is left to figure
out the broader
meaning of events and
the quirks of the
character’s personality
+ reader becomes
immersed in the
experience of actually
"being" the
protagonist
+ can be particularly
persuasive or engaging
− characters cannot be
developed
− story hard to craft
! Don't confuse second-
person point of view
writing with a writer who
is simply addressing the
reader.