Point of View As a Strategy

Point of view refers to who is telling or narrating a story. I would say that a story can be told in three different ways: first person, second person, and third person. Before I discuss further writers use point of view to express the personal emotions of either themselves or their characters. Remember that the point of view of a story is how the writer wants to convey the experience to the reader.

First-person Point of View In a Story

Listen that with first-person point of view, the character is telling the story. I should point out that you will see the words "I," "me," or "we" in first-person point of view. Okay so this point of view is commonly used for narratives and autobiographies.

Do you know that the first-person point of view can be singular or plural. The singular form uses "I" or "me" and plural form uses the word "we." According to the rule both are used to give the writer's personal perspective.

Some examples of first-person narrative include:

I always look forward to my summer vacation at the beach. I like to collect seashells and swim in the ocean.

We love walking the dogs in the woods. We all think it is so much fun.

If it was up to me, I would choose the white car.

We didn't want to drive so we took the train to the city and back home.

Second-person Point of View In a Story

You will feel when writing in second-person point of view the writer has the narrator speaking to the reader. It is often seen that the words "you," "your," and "yours" are used in this point of view. Too often some common uses for second-person point of view are directions, business writing, technical writing, song lyrics, speeches, and advertising.

Some examples of second-person point of view are:

In just a few simple steps you can make a big change in your life!

To make a great chili is you must season it early and often.

Management is very happy with the progress you are all making.

You gotta fight for your right to party! - "Fight for Your Right," Beastie Boys

Third-person Point of View In a Story

A wonderful activity Third-person point of view has an external narrator telling the story. Needless to say the words "he," "she," "it," or "they" are used in this point of view.This strategy is a powerful one this point of view can either be omniscient where the reader knows what all the characters are doing in the story or it can be limited to having the reader only know what is happening to one specific character. I suggest that third person can also be gender specific or neutral, singular or plural.

Third-person point of view is often used in academic writing and fictional writing. Some examples of third person point of view:

He is a great football player. He scored the most touchdowns this season.

She was the one who knew all the answers on the test. She had the highest grade in the entire class.

What they told her was not the truth.

She heard a loud crash in the middle of the night. She was so scared that she didn't know what she should do next.

Some Examples of Point of View

Sandra Cisneros wrote a story called “Eleven.” You will find the point of view is the perspective of 11-year-old Rachel. Well the story takes place at school during her birthday and is about her humiliation of receiving an old sweater. You can tell that throughout the story, she speaks in the first-person point of view, sharing her thoughts as events unfold.

“Only today I wish I didn’t have only eleven years rattling inside me like pennies in a tin Band-Aid box. Today I wish I was one hundred and two instead of eleven because if I was one hundred and two I’d have known what to say when Mrs. Price put the red sweater on my desk” (Cisneros).

A fun activity is to rewrite the story from each character’s point of view. What is the teacher thinking as she tries to get rid of this ugly red sweater in her classroom? Maybe it reminds her of her demanding mother! How does the sweater feel being tossed and pushed around, unwanted and unloved? Maybe some sweet old lady had knitted it with love for a granddaughter who now has rejected it. Why does Sylvia say it belongs to Rachel? Is she jealous of Rachel for some reason? Each character will have a slightly different story from his or her perspective.

Examples of Types of Point of View

First person: This is a fair way of saying that the example above with little Rachel is told in the first-person point of view, meaning that we are seeing events through the eyes of the character telling the story.

Second person: You will observe that in second person, the narrator is speaking to YOU. Needless to say that this isn’t very common in fiction, unless the narrator is trying to talk to the reader personally. Our students will see second-person point of view mostly in poems, speeches, instructional writing, and persuasive articles.

Third person: Okay with third-person point of view, the narrator is describing what’s seen, but as a spectator. If the narrator is a character in the story, then we are reading what he or she observes as the story unfolds. This narrator has three possible perspectives.

Limited – Well in limited third-person, the narrator sees only what’s in front of him/her, a spectator of events as they unfold and unable to read any other character’s mind.

Omniscient – Now an omniscient narrator sees all, much as an all knowing god of some kind. Of equal importance he or she sees what each character is doing and can see into each character’s mind. This is common with an external character, who is standing above, watching the action below (think of a person with a crystal ball, peering in).

Limited Omniscient – The limited omniscient third-person narrator can only see into one character’s mind. He/she might see other events happening, but only knows the reasons of one character’s actions in the story.

Point of View Is Important In a Story

I have discovered that point of view is important in a story because it helps the reader understand characters’ feelings and actions. You will find that each character will have his or her own perspective, so whoever is telling the story will impact the reader’s opinion of other characters and events.

As in the example above with Rachel and the red sweater, each point of view could be an entirely different story. I think perhaps Rachel had embarrassed Sylvia horribly one day, so the sympathy we feel for Rachel in her perspective may change to sympathy for Sylvia if the point of view was switched.

Remember reading the story from a character in the story versus an external character changes the amount of information a reader has as the story unfolds. With an omniscient third-person, we can see everything before other characters do, which gives us forewarning about other events. Very often with a limited third-person, we are not allowed to see other events until the narrator does so. This may leave us with more surprises as we read.

Different Related Terms

Narrator: The narrator is the person who tells the story. There are different types of narrators, such as internal and external. Be prepard that each narrator will have his or her own perspective or point of view as the story is told.

Viewpoint: Next viewpoint is the perspective at which something is seen. If three people see an accident, each person will have his or her own version of what happened depending on where the person was at the time it happened.

Conclusion

Point of view is an important part of all writing. It is often seen that it makes stories interesting, gives research its serious tone, poems and persuasive works their personal tone, and allows readers to easily follow all writing. Okay keeping in mind the different types of POV and when to use them will make your writing stronger.