Identifying the point of

view of a Story
Each sentence is in different point of view
I think I lost my wallet! I can’t find it
anywhere! Oh, I could just kick myself!

You can wait in here and make

yourself at home.

Tiffany used her prize money from the

science fair to buy herself a new
microscope.
POINT OF VIEW

- refers to who is
telling the story

• First Person
• Second Person
• Third Person
Limited Omniscient
Omniscient
Dramatic or Objective
First Person

• The writer uses “I” to refer to the character who is telling the
story.
• The reader has insights into the character’s mind as he reveals his
thoughts, feelings, and reactions.
• The narrator is a participant in the story.

“I wandered lonely as a cloud

That floats on high o’er vales
and hills,”
-I Wandered Lonely as a
Cloud by William Wordsworth
Third Person

• The narrator has no insights into the characters’ minds and

narrates the events from an observer’s point of view.
• The author repressents the story using ‘he, she, it, or they’.
• There are 3 third person point of views: limited omniscient,
omniscient and dramatic or objective
Third Person

LIMITED OMNISCIENT
 Readers are told the thoughts and feelings of only one character.

Harry had taken up his place at wizard school,

where he and his scar were famous.. But now
the school year was over , and he was back
with the Dursley’s for the summer, back to
being treated like a dog that had rolled in
something smelly.
-Harry Potter and the Chamber of
Secrets by J.K Rowling
Third Person
OMNISCIENT
 The narrator moves from one character to another as it reveals the
thoughts and feelings of all the characters

Just then another visitor entered the drawing room:

Prince Andrew Bolkonski, the little princess’ husband. He
was a very handsome young man, of medium height, with
firm, clearcut features. Everything about him, from his
weary, bored expression to his quioet, measured step,
offered a most striking contrast to his quiet, little wife.
-War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
Third Person
DRAMATIC OR OBJECTIVE
 The writer uses the narrator to relate only the events and words of
the characters.
 It is called dramatic because the way the words and actions is
conveyed is very similar to what you would see and hear if the
characters were in a play or film.

Abe and Austin decide to journey down to

Knob Creek. The water looks scary and
deep, and Austin points out that they don’t
know how to swim. Nevertheless, they
decide to traverse it.
-Abe Lincoln Crosses a Creek by
Deborah Hopkinson
Second Person
 Pulls the reader into the story with the pronouns “you” or “your”

You’re the sort of person who, on principle, no

longer expects anything of anything. There are
plenty, younger than you or less young, who
live in the expectation of extraordinary
experiences: from books, from people, from
journeys, from events… but not you.
If on a Winter’s Night a Traveler by
Italo Calvino
SeatWork
Identify what point of view the following
statements used.
1. Victor looked at the moth. He couldn’t
believe that such a strange creature had
landed right outside his door.

2. Sylvia looked around. “Where are

we?” she asked.
“Just off the trail,” I replied. “See?”
“Marco, there’s no trail over there,”
Sylvia said.
My heart sank. She was right.
3. The wizard looked around. “Where is
my apprentice?” he barked.
Eleza gulped. Already she was in
trouble. “Yes, sir?” she asked.
“I need more sunflower petals for this
spell,” the wizard grumbled. “Well,
don’t just stand there! Go!”

4. Eleza scuttled to the sunflower patch.

She thought that becoming a wizard’s
apprentice would be fun and exciting.
Instead she was here in the garden,
picking sunflower petals with the
grasshoppers.
5. Reggie stared at the water. He
thought the waves looked huge! “I
don’t think I want to swim,” he said.
Quit being such a baby, Quentin
thought, but of course he didn’t say
this aloud. “Stay on the shore then,”
he said. “I’m jumping in!”
Their mother sighed, wishing that
her boys could get along.

6. I looked around me in delight.

Flowers, flowers, everywhere! I would
definitely be able to take a picture of a
butterfly here. With this picture, I could
win the school photo contest.
7. Lara looked glumly around the pond.
It wasn’t a fun beach or an exciting
theme park. She wondered if the entire
vacation would be this boring.
“Isn’t the pond gorgeous?” Mom
asked.
Lara frowned. She didn’t think so..

8. You stare at the distant horizon.

There—off in the distance—could it
be real? You can’t believe your eyes.
You are looking at a real UFO!
Can you.
9. You are in a nightclub talking to a girl
with a shaved head. The club is either
Heartbreak or Lizard Lounge. All might
come clear if you could just slip into the
bathroom and do a little more Bolivian
Marching Powder.

10. I saw the ‘Closed’ sign dangling from the

shop window, but I could hear someone
moving inside. I stood on tiptoes to look
through the glass and saw a pair of eyes
staring back at me..