Review of Narrative Point of View

Narrative Point of view

​EOC Reading SOL Review

Point of view

The narrator's perspective of the events described in a literary work.

Various vantage points

It is important to know who is "speaking" to the reader because the vantage point can affect our evaluation of the information being shared.

First-person POV Examples

‘It wasn’t the brakes, I thought. She had her reasons. Not that they were ever the same as anybody else’s reason. She was completely ruthless that way.’ - Margaret Atwood, The Blind Assassin

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​‘Where I want to start telling is the day I left Pencey Prep. Pencey Prep is this school that’s in Agerstown, Pennsylvania. You probably heard of it. You’ve probably seen the ads, anyway. They advertise in about a thousand magazines, always showing some hotshot guy on a horse jumping over a fence.’ - J.D. Salinger, Catcher in the Rye

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Second-person POV Examples

​“And you know the darkness beyond despair, just as intimately as you know the soaring heights. Because in this and all universes, there is balance. You can’t have the one without facing the other. And sometimes you think you can take it because the joy is worth the despair, and sometimes you know you can’t take it and how did you ever think you could?” – Neal Shusterman, Challenger Deep 

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“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who’ll decide where to go…”-  Dr. Seuss, Oh, the Places You’ll Go!

Third-Person Limited POV Examples

​“Because he has no respect for the material he teaches, he makes no impression on his students. They look through him when he speaks, forget his name. Their indifference galls him more than he will admit.” – J.M. Coetzee, Disgrace

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“Harry sat up and examined the jagged piece on which he had cut himself, seeing nothing but his own bright green eye reflected back at him.” – J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Third-Person Objective POV Example

“Remember,” Mr. Summers said, “take the slips and keep them folded until each person has taken one. Harry, you help little Dave.” Mr. Graves took the hand of the little boy, who came willingly with him up to the box. “Take a paper out of the box, Davy,” Mr. Summers said. Davy put his hand into the box and laughed. “Take just one paper,” Mr. Summers said. “Harry, you hold it for him.” Mr. Graves took the child’s hand and removed the folded paper from the tight fist and held it while little Dave stood next to him and looked up at him wonderingly. - Shirley Jackson, "The Lottery"

Third-Person Omniscient POV Examples

​“Occupied in observing Mr. Bingley’s attentions to her sister, Elizabeth was far from suspecting that she was herself becoming an object of some interest in the eyes of his friend. Mr. Darcy had at first scarcely allowed her to be pretty: he had looked at her without admiration at the ball; and when they next met, he looked at her only to criticise.” – Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice

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“His voice rose under the black smoke before the burning wreckage of the island; and infected by that emotion, the other little boys began to shake and sob too. And in the middle of them, with filthy body, matted hair, and unwiped nose, Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of mans heart, and the fall through the air of the true, wise friend called Piggy.” – William Golding, The Lord of the Flies

Multiple Choice

Which sentence is written in second person point of view?

• Erin did not want to go to the grocery store.

• You did not want to go to the grocery store.

• Mariah did not want to go to the grocery store.

• I did not want to go to the grocery store.

Multiple Choice

Identify the point of view of the excerpt from The Hunger Games:

"A pain stabs my left temple and I press my hand against it. Right on the spot where Johanna Mason hit me with the coil of wire. The memories swirl as I try to sort out what is true and what is false."

• First Person 

• Second Person 

• Third Person Limited

• Third Person Omniscient 

Multiple Choice

 Identify the point of view: 

Make sure to wash your hands before forming the batter into different shapes. Germs can spread easily, especially when cooking, and it is important to stay clean and healthy. 

• First Person 
• Second Person 
• Third Person Limited
• Third Person Omniscient 

Multiple Choice

Identify the point of view: 

Amy sprinted as fast as she could with her neighbor’s dog running right behind her. Amy was terrified of him, and thought that he would bite her. In reality, the dog just wanted to play, and thought of Amy as a friend. 

• First Person 
• Second Person 
• Third Person Limited
• Third Person Omniscient 

Multiple Choice

The point of view represented when the narrator only describes the innermost thoughts and feelings of one character.

• Third-Person Objective

• Third-Person Limited

• Third-Person Omniscient

Multiple Choice

The point of view represented when the narrator only describes what can be experienced externally - no innermost thoughts and feelings of any character.

• Third-Person Objective

• Third-Person Limited

• Third-Person Omniscient

Multiple Choice

The point of view represented when the narrator is able to describe the innermost thoughts and feelings of all characters.

• Third-Person Objective

• Third-Person Limited

• Third-Person Omniscient