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    Poimnt of View

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    Elaine Gay Manda
    The document discusses the three grammatical persons used in writing: first, second, and third person. It provides examples of how pronouns indicate each point of view. First person uses pronouns like "I" and "me" and is told from the perspective of the speaker. Second person uses "you" and speaks directly to the reader. Third person uses pronouns like "he", "she", or "they" to refer to subjects being discussed rather than the speaker or reader. The document outlines the objective, subjective, and possessive cases for each point of view and provides literary examples to illustrate them.

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    Poimnt of View

    Uploaded by

    Elaine Gay Manda
    68 views7 pages
    The document discusses the three grammatical persons used in writing: first, second, and third person. It provides examples of how pronouns indicate each point of view. First person uses pronouns like "I" and "me" and is told from the perspective of the speaker. Second person uses "you" and speaks directly to the reader. Third person uses pronouns like "he", "she", or "they" to refer to subjects being discussed rather than the speaker or reader. The document outlines the objective, subjective, and possessive cases for each point of view and provides literary examples to illustrate them.

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    The document discusses the three grammatical persons used in writing: first, second, and third person. It provides examples of how pronouns indicate each point of view. First person uses pronouns like "I" and "me" and is told from the perspective of the speaker. Second person uses "you" and speaks directly to the reader. Third person uses pronouns like "he", "she", or "they" to refer to subjects being discussed rather than the speaker or reader. The document outlines the objective, subjective, and possessive cases for each point of view and provides literary examples to illustrate them.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    68 views7 pages

    Poimnt of View

    Uploaded by

    Elaine Gay Manda
    The document discusses the three grammatical persons used in writing: first, second, and third person. It provides examples of how pronouns indicate each point of view. First person uses pronouns like "I" and "me" and is told from the perspective of the speaker. Second person uses "you" and speaks directly to the reader. Third person uses pronouns like "he", "she", or "they" to refer to subjects being discussed rather than the speaker or reader. The document outlines the objective, subjective, and possessive cases for each point of view and provides literary examples to illustrate them.

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    of 7

    First Person

    First, second, and third person are all a type of grammatical person. To identify which one is used, you have to find
    the pronouns in the sentence.

    In the following sentence, the pronouns "my" and "I" indicate that the person is speaking in the first person:

    "In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I've been turning over in my mind
    ever since."

    In the first person, the speaker is speaking about himself or herself. Simple, right?

    The above example is one of the first-person subjective case, meaning it refers to the subject who performs the
    action. "I" is used for a singular subject, and "we" is used for more than one subject, including the speaker.

    There are three cases in total; along with the subjective case, there are also the objective case and the possessive
    case. The objective case uses the pronoun "me" or "us" to denote the objects of the sentence that receive the action.

    "Call me Ishmael."

    —Herman Melville, Moby Dick

    all me Ishmael."

    —Herman Melville, Moby Dick

    Finally, there is the possessive case: "my, mine, ours," which indicates, of course, possession.

    "Lolita, light of my live, fire of my loins."

    —Vladimir Nabokov, Lolita

    These are all examples of the first-person point of view.

    Second Person
    "You are about to begin reading Italo Calvino's new novel, If on a winter's night a
    traveler."

    —Italo Calvino, If on a winter's night a traveler

    What is this strange narrative voice? Though second-person point of view isn't as
    popular as the others, it does crop up from time to time, so let's review it. In the second-
    person point of view, the subjective and objective cases take the same pronoun, "you,"
    and the pronoun is the same for singular and plural subjects alike. Neat, huh?

    The possessive case simply uses "yours," making the second-person point of view
    simple to identify. Easy as pie!

    Third Person
    The third-person point of view is used when the subject is being spoken about. This
    point of view is a little trickier because it introduces gender into the mix. The feminine
    subjective singular case is "she," the masculine subjective singular case is "he," and the
    neuter subjective singular case is "it." When pluralizing, the pronoun is "they,"
    regardless of gender.

    Phew! It sounds scary, but it doesn't have to be. To replace the noun with the pronoun
    "he" or "she," you must be very certain of the subject's gender. Here are some
    examples:

    "Mrs. Dalloway said she would buy the flowers herself."

    —Virginia Woolf, Mrs. Dalloway

    "When Gregor Samsa woke up one morning from unsettling dreams, he found
    himself changed in his bed into a monstrous vermin."

    —Franz Kafka, The Metamorphosis

    With the objective case, "him" (masculine), "hers" (feminine), "it" (neuter), and "them"
    (plural) are used. The third-person plural, "they" and "theirs," are used to refer to a
    group of individuals that does not include the speaker. Finally, the possessive case for
    the third-person narrative voice is "his," "hers," "its," and "theirs."

    "Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way."

    —Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina

    It is important to note that the narrative voice does not include dialogue. A third-person
    point of view in a novel might read like so:
    "Once an angry man dragged his father along the ground through his own
    orchard. 'Stop!' cried the groaning old man at last, 'Stop! I did not drag my father
    beyond this tree.'"

    —Gertrude Stein, The Making of Americans

    Trickier Examples
    But wait! What about instances where there is no pronoun or the subject doesn't seem
    to appear in the sentence? Sometimes, it's trickier than usual to identify the point of
    view.

    "A screaming comes across the sky."

    —Thomas Pynchon, Gravity's Rainbow

    There are no pronouns in this sentence, but if we continue to read, it becomes clear that
    the novel employs the third-person perspective, as evidenced by the use of the pronoun
    "he":

    "It has happened before, but there is nothing to compare it to now. It is too late.
    The Evacuation still proceeds, but it's all theatre. There are no lights inside the
    cars. No lights anywhere. Above him lift girders old as an iron queen, and glass
    somewhere far above that would let the light of day through. But it's night. He's
    afraid of the way the glass will fall—soon—it will be a spectacle: the fall of a
    crystal palace."

    Taking a heftier sample from the text will help clear confusion. While we've used first
    lines to demonstrate the narrative voice, make sure you take a sample larger than a
    single line, as it's easy to be duped. Another example:

    "They're out there."

    —Ken Kesey, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

    Though the only pronoun that appears in the sentence is "they," which implies a third-
    person point of view, this novel actually uses the first-person point of view, and the
    subject doesn't actually appear in the sentence. Also, make sure you take samples from
    multiple points in the text. Some novels change points of view throughout.
    "This is the story of a lover's triangle, I suppose you'd say—Arnie Cunningham,
    Leigh Cabot, and, of course, Christine. But I want you to understand that
    Christine was there first."

    —Stephen King, Christine

    hile good ol' Stephen King here begins his novel in the first-person point of view, the
    story is in three parts, and the middle part is in the third-person point of view. Oy vey!
    But don't worry; by paying attention to the pronouns, you can identify narrative voice
    easily.

    In Short
     If the text uses "I," "we," "me," "us," "my," "mine," or "ours" as pronouns, then you
    have a first-person point of view.
     If it uses "you," "your," or "yours" as pronouns, then you have a second-person
    point of view.
     If it uses "he," she," "it," "they," "him," "hers," "them," "their," "his," "its," or "theirs"
    as pronouns, then you have a third-person point of view.
     Point of View
     Point of view refers to the vantage point from which the story is told.
    There are three different possible points of view:

     1. First-person point of view-A character in the story is telling the story. If


    you see the words "I," "me," or "we," then the story is in the first-person
    point of view.
     2. Second-person point of view-This is less common, but this point of
    view has the narrator talking to the reader. If you see the word "you,"
    then the story is told in the second-person point of view.
     3. Third-person point of view-This is when an external narrator is telling
    the story. A third-person point of view can be limited-meaning the
    narrator "follows" one character and we see everything that is happening
    near that character. Or, the third-person point of view can be omniscient-
    we know what all characters in the story are doing and thinking.
     Examples of Point of View:
     Examples of the Different Points of View in Literature
     Example of First Person Point of View-Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises
     "I could picture it. I have a habit of imagining the conversations between
    my friends. We went out to the Cafe Napolitain to have an aperitif and
    watch the evening crowd on the Boulevard."
     Example of Second Person Point of View-Dr. Seuss' Oh, the Places You'll
    Go!
     "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 guy who'll decide where to go."
     Example of Third Person Point of View-E.B. White's Charlotte's Web
     "Wilbur never forgot Charlotte. Although he loved her children and
    grandchildren dearly, none of the new spiders ever quite took her place in
    his heart. She was in a class by herself. It is not often that someone
    comes along who is a true friend and a good writer. Charlotte was both."

    Examples of Point of View


    Point of view refers to who is telling or narrating a story. A story can be told in three different ways:
    first person, second person, and third person. Writers use point of view to express the personal
    emotions of either themselves or their characters. The point of view of a story is how the writer wants
    to convey the experience to the reader.

    First-person Point of View


    With first-person point of view, the character is telling the story. You will see the words "I," "me," or
    "we" in first-person point of view. This point of view is commonly used for narratives and
    autobiographies.
    First-person point of view can be singular or plural. The singular form uses "I" or "me" and plural
    form uses the word "we." Both are used to give the writer's personal perspective.
    Some examples of first-person narrative include:
     I always look forward to my summer vacation at the beach. I like to collect seashells and
    swim in the ocean.
     We love walking the dogs in the woods. We all think it is so much fun.
     If it was up to me, I would choose the white car.
     We didn't want to drive so we took the train to the city and back home.
    YouDictionary has many more examples of writing in the first person here.

    Second-person Point of View


    When writing in second-person point of view, the writer has the narrator speaking to the reader. The
    words "you," "your," and "yours" are used in this point of view. Some common uses for second-
    person point of view are directions, business writing, technical writing, song lyrics, speeches, and
    advertising.
    Some examples of second-person point of view are:
     In just a few simple steps you can make a big change in your life!
     To make a great chili is you must season it early and often.
     Management is very happy with the progress you are all making.
     You gotta fight for your right to party! - "Fight for Your Right," Beastie Boys
    For more examples see our article on writing in second person.

    Third-person Point of View


    Third-person point of view has an external narrator telling the story. The words "he," "she," "it," or
    "they" are used in this point of view. This point of view can either be omniscient where the reader
    knows what all the characters are doing in the story or it can be limited to having the reader only
    know what is happening to one specific character. Third person can also be gender specific or
    neutral, singular or plural.
    Third-person point of view is often used in academic writing and fictional writing. Some examples of
    third person point of view:
     He is a great football player. He scored the most touchdowns this season.
     She was the one who knew all the answers on the test. She had the highest grade in the entire
    class.
     What they told her was not the truth.
     She heard a loud crash in the middle of the night. She was so scared that she didn't know
    what she should do next.
    For more information on the third-person point of view read Examples of Writing in the Third
    Person.

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    Using Different Points of View
    What point of view you choose to use in writing depends on how you want the story directed to the
    reader. If you are telling a story from the writer's perspective, use the first-person point of view to
    provide a sense of intimacy. To direct the writing at the reader, say, for a recipe or speech, use the
    second person as a way to separate the writer from the narrative. To tell the story from an outside
    perspective, with the ability to have an overview of the piece, use the third person. Always be sure to
    be consistent in your writing and stick with one point of view throughout. This makes it easier for the
    reader to understand your angle.

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