Point of View

1. “Exploring Point of View.”__ Literature: What Makes a Good Short Story?__ 2 June 2007. < http://www.learner.org/exhibits/literature/read/pov2.html >.

This website explores the different literary terms. This page looks at the different points of view, such as objective, third person, first person, and omniscient point of view. The texts I selected to represent the Enlightenment use first person point of view. First person point of view is when the narrator participates in the action of the text. What the narrator says may not be objective, so it should be remembered that the information may be personal opinion. Understanding point of view reminds one to consider what the text content consists of: fact, opinion, fiction, etc. When looking at John Adams’ Thoughts on Government, I begin to look at what is his personal opinion and what information he has gained due to his research of other literary works and history. This website is sponsored by Annenberg Media. The company’s mission is to advance teaching in all disciplines and its information is frequently featured on PBS.

2. Point.  Oxford English Dictionary.  June 9, 2007

This dictionary definition gives the definition for the literary term, point of view. When readers know this definition they are able to look at the characters and story they are reading in a different light; from a different point of view.

3. Duckart, Tracy. 01 Jan 2006 “Point of View”. Humbolt University. Instructional Websitehttp://www.humboldt.edu/~tdd2/PointofView.htm

The main point and purpose of Tracy Duckart’s website is to explain the literary term “Point of View” to the students of Humboldt University. The classes she teaches are English 100/101. The website gives an explanation of the literary term in a bulleted outline format. According to Duckart, a point of view is “the angle of vision from which a story is told, the perspective or vantage point from which a writer views reality or conveys action or information” (Duckart). The four basic points of view come in two categories: first person and third person. The first person uses the “I” voice, and is the main character. The third person falls into three subgroups; Omniscient, Limited Omniscient & Objective (or Dramatic) group. The literary term I learned from this reading will help me better understand if the text I am about to read will be one of the categories of a point of view. Duckart also gives some important information on determining the base of a point of view. I give credit to Tracy Duckart’s website because it is one of her main source of teaching strategy, online information for her students. 

4. Bengels, Barbara. "Using Science Fiction to Teach Point of View." Ebscohost.Com. Aug. 2005. University of Texas at Brownsville. 2 June 2007 < http://ezp.mc.maricopa.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=19016016&site=ehost-live >.

The purpose of this reference is teaching point of view in literature. The website defines the term as the perspective from which a literary work is presented to the reader. The website describes analyzing texts using the literary terms as the tense in which the text is given. An understanding of this literary term is important because it helps understand who is talking and how they are talking. The website is credible because it states who the author is. Another important part of a credible source is an organization in which the author is associated with. The author in this source is associated with the University of Texas at Brownsville.

5. Lazerezcu, Lisa R.  “Elements of Literature.”  19 October 2006.  19 June 2007. < http://web.cocc.edu/lisal/literaryterms/elements_of_literature.htm >. 

Editor and discourse student Lisa R. Lazerezcu has presented an extensive list of literary elements and their places in non-fiction and fiction.  The site could really be useful for all literary elements, though she does, in this case, give a rather short definition of point of view in literature.  She writes, “The question of point of view is, Who tells the story? Do you trust the narrator's accuracy?  Every story is told by a narrator, who is created by the author and usually different from the author's voice.  The narrator controls the story by talking from a particular point of view.  Points of view have traditionally been classed as first person, second person, and third-person"  This definition followed hand in hand what I already knew about point of view, and will prove a credible source for citing come essay time.  She is a discourse teacher at Central Oregon Community College. 

7. Quince, Ella. "Point of View: Who's Telling the Story." 2007. The Blue Quill. 20 June 2007 < http://www.gabwhacker.com/xwp/bluequill/pov.asp >.

 The website's purpose is to help writers "polish their sagas." The author of the site is a writer herself.

The website defines point of view as simply who is telling the story and where the narrator stand in the story. The page also offers advice on how to choose your point of view and how that choice could affect the significance of the story. For example, if you feel that the story would be strong if you told it through your personal account, your own voice, words and eyes , then you would use first person point of view. If offers details to different point of views (third person, first, and mixed) and advice to changing the point of view.

The text gives an idea on what to look for in analyzing selected texts, especially when the text is an autobiography. One would try to understand why an author chooses to write an autobiography opposed to a fictional novel based on true experiences.  -DR