Literary Element:

Point of View
 First Version Second Version Third Version
I groaned and You groan and Mia groaned and
clutched my clutch your stomach clutched her stomach
stomach in pain, but in pain, but there is in pain, but there was
there was nothing I nothing you can do nothing she could do
could do about it, about it, for there is about it, for there
for there was no no food in this was no food in this
food in the isolated isolated island for isolated island for
Point of View

● an element of a short story that focuses on how the

narrator presents what readers “hear” and “see”
● a tool that an author uses to express what the character
feels about a situation in a text by conveying these
emotions to the audience
First-Person Point of View
● used when we talk about ourselves, our own views, beliefs,
and opinions
● used in literature to give the narrative a more personal effect
● uses first-person singular pronouns (such as I, me, my,
mine, and myself) and first-person plural pronouns (such as
we, us, our, and ourselves)
Second-Person Point of View
● uses pronouns that address the reader, such as you, your,
and yourself
● rarely used in narratives and are more often found in
technical or instructional texts
Third-Person Point of View
● uses third-person singular and plural pronouns such as he,
she, they, and them
● most often used in narratives
Third-person Omniscient Point of View

● the narrator is aware of all the thoughts and actions of all

the characters
● author may use different voices from all characters in the
text while maintaining a “godlike” distance from them
Feminism
 Feminism

● the advocacy of women’s rights on the grounds of political,

social, and economic equality to men
● a movement that aims to provide equal opportunities for
women to become intellectual equals of men
Misconceptions on Feminism

1. All feminists hate men.

2. Feminism only liberates women at the expense of men.
3. Women cannot be feminine and be a feminist at the same
time.
4. Feminists are “man-haters” or “lesbians.”
5. Men cannot be feminists.
Patriarchal Ideology

● Patriarchy is defined as a system of social organization

wherein men are the main figure of authority in a family,
clan, or tribe.
● this authority is passed on to the male members of the
family
● the idea that males are expected to act as the leaders of the
unit and are expected to assume a more superior position
than females
Patriarchal Ideology

Males Females
● strong ● emotional
● rational ● weak
● decisive ● submissive
● protective ● nurturing
Feminist Ideology

● aims to eradicate the objectification of women brought

about by the patriarchal ideology
● Women should not be defined by the idea of inferiority
established by the patriarchal society.
● Men and women are equally allowed to express emotions
without basing on their sex or what is expected of them by
society.
● Men and women should have equal opportunities that are
not dictated or affected by their sex or position in society.
Analyzing a Text Using
the Feminist Approach
Feminist Literary Criticism

● examines the role and portrayal of gender in literature

● critiques the language of literature using feminist principles
and ideology
● aims to expose how certain literary works promote
patriarchy and, consequently, marginalize women
Feminist Literary Criticism

The following questions are helpful in understanding a text

from a feminist perspective:

1. How are women’s lives portrayed in the work?

2. What does the piece reveal about patriarchy?
3. How does the marital status of a character affect or define
her?
Feminist Literary Criticism

4. To what extent is the form and content of the work

influenced by the writer’s gender?
5. How is the relationship between male and female
characters portrayed?
6. How are masculinity and femininity defined in the story?
How do the characters show these traits?
7. How do the characters’ genders affect the story?
Feminist Literary Criticism

8. Are there any characters that exhibit traits from opposite

genders? How so? How does this affect other characters’
reactions to them?
9. Consider the sociocultural context during the time the
work was published. How did it contribute to the landscape
or tradition of feminist literature?
The Historical
Approach
Historical literary criticism
● examines a literary work by looking into the historical, social,
and cultural circumstances that produced it
● includes the author’s biography and circumstances during
the time he or she created the work
● most effective when analyzing works that are strongly based
on history (e.g., creative historical accounts of real events
and historical fiction)
The Romance of the Three Kingdoms
by Luo Guan Zhong

This is a novel that is considered semi-historical. It talks

about the lives as well as the struggles of people in the
Three Kingdoms period of China and is best understood
when you have a background in China’s history.
A Tale of Two Cities
by Charles Dickens

The novel was set during the conditions that led to the
French Revolution and Reign of Terror.
“On the Late Massacre in Piedmont”
by John Milton

It is a poem about the slaughter of the Waldenses in

1655. The Waldenses are members of a Protestant sect
in the valleys of Northern Italy.
In using the historical approach, you may examine one or
several of the following aspects of the text:
○ the historical and social circumstances that affect the
author’s viewpoint
○ the historical and social circumstances during the time the
literary work was published
○ the impact or effect of the text on its original readers
Analyzing a Text
Using the
Historical Approach
The questions below are designed to act as a guide for
evaluating a piece of literature using the historical
approach.

1. When and where is the narrative set?

2. Who is the author? How is his or her background reflected in
the text? What circumstances was he or she going through
while writing the text?
3. How does the literary work reflect the time in which it was
written? How accurately does it depict its setting?
4. How does the story reflect the attitudes and beliefs of the
time in which it was written or set? (Consider beliefs and
attitudes related to race, religion, politics, gender, society,
philosophy, etc.)
5. Does the story reveal or contradict the prevailing values of
the time in which it was written?
6. What other literary works might have influenced the author’s
work?
7. What historical events or movements might have influenced
the author?
8. How did the original readers of the work view the characters
and events in the story? From their perspective, does the
story provide an opposing view of their values?
9. How important is the historical context of the work? How
does it influence one’s reading of the work?