Narrative Point of View:

the perspective through

which an author chooses to
tell the story

Dialogue and Narration

Dialogue is when characters speak.
Narration is when the narrator
speaks.
Quotation marks ( ) separate
dialogue from narration.
Example:
Youre too late, my cousin Jack
said.
1

Identifying Narrative Point of

View
It's about the narrator, or who
tells the story.
We're not looking at dialogue.
We don't care what characters say.
Only the narrator's voice matters.

Pronoun Use
We are trying to figure out the
narrator's viewpoint on the story.

Perspectives and Signal Pronouns

First Person
Second
Person
Third Person

I, me, my, mine,

we, us, our, ours
you, your, yours
he, him, his, she,
her, hers, they,
them, their, theirs

First Person
Narrator is a part of the story, appears
as a character, and is involved in the
action.
I or we often appears outside of
dialogue (=without quotation marks).
Example:
I rushed home because my friend Tim
was coming over. We planned to spend
all afternoon shooting hoops.

Second Person

Generally used for instructions

Rarely used for telling stories
Features you, your, and commands
You are the one completing the
actions described.

Example:
First, gather your materials. You
will need a large table to work on.

Third Person
Narrator is not involved in the action.
Narrator tells other people's stories.
Lots of hes, shes, and character names.
Example:
Sara sat down at the piano and started
to play. She became so engrossed in the
music that she didnt hear her mother
call to her.

Three Types of Third Person

Narration
Omniscient
Limited
Objective
To decide which type it is, ask
yourself:
Does the narrator describe the
thoughts and feelings of any
character?
If so, is it only one character or
more than one?

Third Person Omniscient

Narrator is all-knowing
(omni = all; scient = knowing).
Narrator tells the thoughts and
feelings of more than one
character.
Example:
Tim was mad at Anna. He blamed
her for his problems. Anna knew
Tim would get mad, but she didnt
care anymore.

Third Person Limited

Narrators insights are limited to
one character.
Narrator describes the thoughts
and feelings of only one character.

Example:
Tim was mad at Anna. He blamed
her for his problems. Anna just left
without saying anything.

Third Person Objective

Narrator does not reveal any
characters thoughts or feelings.
Only a characters speech and
actions are reported.
Example:
Tim slammed the door. He walked
upstairs and read the note from
Anna. He kicked the trash can and
started crying.

Tips on Identifying POV

Check for first person (or second
person) before worrying about
objective, limited, or omniscient.
Ask, Whose story is the narrator telling his own, the readers, or someone elses?
Focus on narration not dialogue. Ignore
pronouns inside quotation marks.

Practice
1. Read the following passages.
2. Determine the narrators
perspective.
3. Write down your answer on the
chart provided, along with the other
information required.

P1
When I was four months old, my
mother died suddenly and my father was
left to look after me all by himself.
I had no brothers or sisters.
So through boyhood, from the age of
four months onward, there was just us
two, my father and me.
We lived in an old gypsy caravan
behind a filling station.
Excerpt from Danny, the Champion of the World by Roald Dahl

P2
The huge man dropped his blankets and flung
himself down and drank from the surface of the
green pool. . . The small man stepped behind him.
"Lennie!" he said sharply. "Lennie, for God
sakes dont drink so much. Lennie continued to
snort into the pool. The small man leaned over
and shook him by the shoulder. "Lennie, you
gonna be sick like you was last night."
Lennie dipped his whole head under, hat and
all. "Thats good," he said. "You drink some,
George. You take a good big drink.
Excerpt from Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

P3
They were standing under a tree, each with
an arm round the other's neck, and Alice knew
which was which in a moment, because one of
them had "DUM" embroidered on his collar,
and the other "DEE." "I suppose they've each
got TWEEDLE round at the back of the collar,"
she said to herself.
They stood so still that she quite forgot they
were alive, and she was just looking round to
see if the word "TWEEDLE" was written at the
back of each collar, when she was startled by a
voice coming from the one marked "DUM.
Excerpt from Alices Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

Answers
1. First Person
2. Third Person Objective
3. Third Person Limited (Alice)
This PowerPoint has been adapted from:
Mr. Morton. Point of View Lesson PowerPoint. Ereading Worksheets.
N.p., n.d. Web.
Microsoft PowerPoint file. 4 Jan. 2016. <point-ofview.ppt>.