Bell Ringer9/15What do you know about first person and third person point of view?

What is the difference? Would you rather read a book told in 1st or 3rd? Fill 2 or more lines.

Have your Reading Logs out for me to check!

Point of View

First Person Point of View

• First person point of view is when a story is narrated by only one character at a time• Pronouns: “I and/or we.”

• The narrator does not have access to the thoughts and feelings of other characters.

1st Person- The Watsons Go to Birmingham 1963

“We moaned and groaned and put some more coats on and went outside to scrape the car’s windows. I could tell by the way he was pouting that Byron was going to try to get out of doing his share of the work.

I went over to the Brown Bomber’s passenger side window…”

Impact on the Reader

1. Your understanding of characters and events is limited to what this narrator reveals about them.

2. You can’t necessarily trust the narrator’s interpretation of events.

3. The story seems real, almost as if the narrator was talking to you.

Third Person Point of View

• The narrator is not a character in the story.

• The narrator may not be an identifiable person, but merely a voice that tells the story.

• Uses pronouns like “he, she, they”

3rd Person- The Sign of the Beaver

•“The Indian boy did not speak a word. Quite plainly he had been brought here against his will. He stared about the cabin and seemed to despise everything he saw.”

Impact on the Reader

1. You are likely to learn more about characters and events than if the story were told by a first person narrator.

2. You might not feel as connected to the characters because the story is told in a less personal way.

Third Person Limited

• Third Person Limited point of view is when the narrator knows only the thoughts and feelings of a single character.

Third Person Omniscient

• Third Person Omniscient is when the narrator knows the thoughts and feelings of all, or most of the characters in the story.