POINT OF VIEW What is Point-of-View? - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

POINT OF VIEWSlide2

What is Point-of-View?

* It’s the perspective

through which the story

is told.

* It is the eye of the story.

* It is the filter (often a

person) through which

events are perceived.

* It is where the “camera”

is placed.Slide3

First Person

The story is told through the POV of one character and filtered through his/her thoughts and emotions. First person narration uses the pronoun “I” and the audience sees the world directly through that character’s eyes only.

For Example: “I was scared, so I ran away from the clown.”

TYPES OF POVSlide4

TAXI by Jesus Garcia

In

the back seat of the Volkswagen Beetle, the woman, her baggy eyes shut, chants the Lord's Prayer over and over. She's sitting in between The Monkey, who has a simian arm casually draped over her shoulder, as if he were her boyfriend, and Handsome, who is riffling through the contents of her purse. I can see through the rearview mirror that he's found her wallet. "Your name's Lourdes," he says, reading from her driver's license. "Lourdes Santos de Diaz. What do you know, you live in Las Lomas! At 2721 Sierra Gorda." The recitation of her name and address doesn't break her concentration, not even for a second. She continues to drone the Lord's Prayer. It's starting to get on my nerves. I bet she hasn't been in a church in years, except for weddings and communions. But once in my taxi, most of the "passengers" put on a big show of piety.

I

look at her in the rearview mirror. Her face, slack with middle age, is grimly set. I return my gaze to the road. "Lourdes?" I ask. "Are you a religious woman?"

"

Yes," she says. She smoothes down her beige skirt, as

if

any

of us were interested in her legs. "Yes, I am."

"

Good," I counter. "Then not only will God protect

you

,

he will

pay you back threefold anything we take

from

you.”Slide5

First Person Point of View

The

story is written from the viewpoint of the character who tells the story and who is also a character in the story. The "I" in the story is not the author but a character that the author has created to tell the story. This character is known as the narrator.The narrator

speaks directly to the

characters and

relates events

in the story

to reveal what his attitude

is to these characters or events. For example, the narrator could be compassionate, sympathetic, understanding, critical, impartial and

etc..

Consider the following:

Is

the narrator

reliable and truthful?

Are the events or characters ironic

?

Is the action limited?Slide6

Second Person

Point of View

Second person narration is very seldom used as it means that the author/performer can only address one person.

(The narrator is essentially telling the story for the reader.)

For Example:

“Scared, you run away from the clown.”Slide7

If

on A Winter's Night A Traveler by Italo Calvino You are about to begin reading Italo Calvino's new novel, If on a Winter's Night a Traveler. Relax. Concentrate. Dispel every other thought. Let the world around you fade. Best to close the door; the TV is always on in the next room. Tell the others right away, "No, I don't want to watch TV!" Raise your voice - they won't hear you otherwise - "I'm reading! I don't want to be disturbed!" Maybe they haven't heard you, with all that racket; speak louder, yell: "I'm beginning to read Italo Calvino's new novel!" Or if you prefer, don't say anything; just hope they'll leave you alone. Find the most comfortable position: seated, stretched out, curled up, or lying flat. Flat on your back, on your side, on your stomach.Slide8

Third Person

Point of View

Unlike first person narrators, third person narrators do not take part in the story. The narrator is outside the story and refers to the characters either by name or in the third person, i.e. he

felt,

she

thought,

they

did, etc. Third

person narrators are very powerful and can order the action as they please. They can also choose what to tell us about the characters and what to leave out.

A third person point of view may be either omniscient, limited or objective.Slide9

Third Person Limited Point of View

The story is told by a narrator, but the narrator is limited to only the thoughts and feelings of the protagonist. Third person limited is also called third person subjective and uses the character’s name as well as the pronouns “she” or “he.”

For Example: “Ingrid was scared, so she ran away from the clown.”Slide10

Buddy

by Nigel Hinton

“Buddy stole the money form his mother's purse just before he left for school. His mother was in the kitchen clearing up the breakfast things and his father was still in bed. He tiptoed into the front room and slipped the purse out of her handbag. He clicked it open and took out a £5 note. A wave of disgust swept through him. Only two weeks ago he'd vowed to himself that he was going to stop shoplifting and here he was stealing from his own mother. He hadn't done that since he was a little kid and had sometimes nicked the odd ten-pence. He was turning into a real thief.

”Slide11

Omniscient Point of View

O

mniscient

means

all-knowing. The

omniscient narrator is

like a

g

od—she knows everything.

Similar to third person limited the story will use character’s names and the pronouns “she” and “he.” But the narrator is no longer limited to one character’s thoughts; instead the narrator knows everyone’s thoughts and actions. The story can move to different locations and isn’t tied to a single character.

For Example:

“Ingrid was scared, so she ran away from the clown. What she didn’t know was that the clown was her father, and he wanted to surprise her for her birthday.”Slide12

The

omniscient

narrator may judge the characters and comment on all their actions and motives. “Many years ago my two friends had a stepsister called Cinderella. She was a badly dressed, disobedient and sulky child, and to try and make her mend her lazy ways my friends made her help with the household chores. She had to help them scrub the floors, tidy the house, cook the meals and wash the pots. She also had to help them wash and iron clothes.”Slide13

Third Person Objective Point of View

This is a very limited point of view because the narrator

resembles a television camera that can only see and hear what isrecorded.

For Example: The clown stood in the middle of the room while the girl ran from it.Slide14

The Lottery

by Shirley Jackson

Soon the men began to gather, surveying their own children, speaking of planting and rain, tractors and taxes. They stood together, away from the pile of stones in the corner, and their jokes were quiet and they smiled rather than laughed. The women, wearing faded house dresses and sweaters, came shortly after their menfolk. They greeted one another and exchanged bits of gossip as they went to join their husbands. Soon the women, standing by their husbands, began to call to their children, and the children came reluctantly, having to be called four or five times. Bobby Martin ducked under his mother's grasping hand and ran, laughing, back to the pile of stones. His father spoke up sharply, and Bobby came quickly and took his place between his father and his oldest brother. Slide15

Why is Point-of-View so Important?

POV creates the narrative voice of the story. Changing POV from first person to omniscient will change the entire voice of the book.

POV affects style – sentence structure, syntax, and diction.POV determines the scope of the story – grand epic vs. intimate character study.POV will affect story structure.POV will create the filter through which all events are interpreted.

POV creates distance or intimacy with the characters.Slide16

Sundberg, Ingrid. "The Point of Point-of-View « Ingrid's Notes." Ingrid's Notes. Word

Press, 10 Mar. 2011. Web. 12 Aug. 2011. <http://ingridsnotes.wordpress.com/

2011/03/06/the-point-of-point-of-view/>.Source