Reading and Literary Terms

Point of View: Through Whose Eyes?

In a short story or novel, point of view is the vantage (view) point from which the writer tells the story.

What is Point of View?

What Is Point of View?

Most novels and short stories are told from one of these points of view:

•Omniscient Point of View

•First-person point of view

•Third-Person-Limited Point of View

In the omniscient point of view the narrator is above the action, looking down on it like a god.

•is not a character in the story

•can tell us the thoughts and feelings of all the characters in the story

•can tell us the past, present, and future

In the omniscient point of view the narrator

Example of Omniscient Point of View:

Tonight’s Most Valuable Player is . . . Didi Blake!”

Didi could hardly believe it! Her coach and teammates were not surprised, though. They knew how hard she had worked.

Didi would have been even more excited if she had known what was in store for her the following week.

First-Person Point of View

In the first-person point of view, the narrator is a character in the story.

In the first-person point of view the narrator

•uses first-person pronouns (I, me, my, mine, we, us, our, ours)

•is a character in the story

•only tells us what he or she knows or chooses to tell (may not be reliable)

Example of First Person Point of View

I learn a lot when Dad takes Neela and me hiking. Dad’s a botanist so he knows a lot about trees and flowers—even their Latin names! I especially like hearing the history of each park we visit. Dad probably wishes Neela would stay at home because she complains about all the walking.

Third-Person-Limited Point of View

In the third-person-limited point of view, the narrator reveals the thoughts and feelings of just

one character.

In the third-person-limited point of view the narrator

•focuses on the thoughts and feelings of one character

•is not a character in the story

•uses third-person pronouns such as he, him, she, hers, it, and they.

Example of Third-Person-Limited Point of View

Rowdy loves his afternoon runs with Jamie, but he can’t wait to be set free from his leash! Rowdy knows they’re headed for the park where all of his buddies will be. “Maybe this time I’ll take that dumb bulldog’s tennis ball away from him,” he thinks.

Denotation/ConnotationThe denotation of a word is its strict dictionary definition.

The connotation of a word is all the feelings and associations that have come to be attached to certain words.

For example, curious and nosy have the same basic meaning, or denotation, but they have different connotations. Would you rather be described as curious or nosy? Nosy has a negative connotation because of the association that has been attached to it.

The following group of words or phrases, have approximately the same denotation. Test your skill at identifying the negative connotation in each group.

3. skinny/slim

1. a careful eater/ finicky eater

2. a dispute/a brawl

IronyIrony is the difference between what you say and what you mean or between what’s supposed to happen and what does happen.

For example, when you say “How graceful” to someone who has just fallen flat on his/her face, you are using irony.

When a firehouse burns down, or if you are in a boat in the middle of the ocean, dying of thirst, that’s irony.

Different types of Irony

•Verbal irony – involves a contrast between what is said or written and what is meant. (Grace)

•Situational irony – occurs when what happens is very different from what is expected to happen.

•Dramatic Irony – occurs when the audience knows something a character does not know.

ForeshadowingThe use of clues to suggest events that will happen later in the plot.

Foreshadowing is used to build suspense or create anxiety.

Can you think of a story you have read that had clues that foreshadowed what would happen later?

Conflict

Conflict is a struggle or clash between opposing characters or opposing forces. There are two types of conflicts:

External Conflict: a character struggles against some outside force. This outside force may be another character or society as a whole or a storm or a grizzly bear or even a machine.

Internal conflict: takes place within a character’s mind. It is a struggle between opposing needs, desires, or emotions.

Test Your Knowledge

Identify the following examples as internal or external conflict.

Tim had writing anxiety. Every time he had to write he would break out in a sweat and become nauseous. He was afraid of failure.

The snow drift barricaded us in our home for two days.

Internal or External Conflict?

Theme

Theme is the truth about life revealed in a work of literature. It is not the same as a subject. The theme is the ideas that the writer wishes to convey about a particular subject. It must be expressed in at least one sentence.

For example, a story’s subject is prejudice. The theme might be this: Prejudice is the fearful, unseen enemy within each of us.

Test Your Skill

Write a theme for one of the following subjects:

Love

Friendship

Divorce

AnalogyAn analogy is a comparison between two things to show how they are alike.

Exercising is like putting money in the bank. Sometimes I’d rather spend time other ways, but if I invest it in exercise, it pays off. I have more energy, think more clearly, and perform better at basketball practice. Even a few dollars invested today yields a lot of money when interest is compounded for years. In the same way, a few minutes invested in exercising now yields a habit that will help protect me from heart disease, diabetes, and other health problems when I’m older.

Practice

Try writing your own analogy. Here are some ideas for subjects:

•Doing homework is like ….

•Keeping friends is like ….

•Playing (sport) is like ….

•Family life is like …..