First person in which the narrator is not the protagonist: The novel The Great Gatsby is narrated by Nick Carraway, but the protagonist of the novel is Jay Gatsby.His voice dominates the story, and the story he tells is his own. First person in which the narrator is the protagonist: In The Catcher in the Rye, the first person narrator Holden Caulfield is the clear protagonist of the story.However, some stories told from the first person do not make the narrator the protagonist: In a story told in the first person, the character who acts as narrator will often also be the protagonist of the story. First Person Point of View and the Protagonist First person, in this way, can have the effect of connecting the reader directly with the story. Saying, 'His name was Ishmael,' for instance, would insert more distance between the reader and the character Ishmael, because the third person narrator would sit between the reader and Ishmael. Only first person can have this colloquial and intimate effect. He wants the reader to feel like Ishmael has just sat down next to him on a bar stool, and is about to tell him his life's story. Melville uses first person here because he wants to establish a confessional tone for the protagonist. Victim's POV: 'He came out of nowhere! Too bad for him, though: I only had five dollars in my bag.'Ĭonsider also one of the most famous examples of first person point of view, the very first line of Herman Melville's Moby-Dick:.Thief's POV: 'I was desperate for something to eat. Judging by her expensive-looking shoes, I figured she could afford to part with her purse.'.

The choice of which character gets to have first person point of view can dramatically change a story, as shown in this simple scenario of a thief snatching a lady's purse You can easily recognize first person by its use of the pronouns 'I' or 'We.' First person offers the author a great way to give the reader direct access to a particular character's thoughts, emotions, voice, and way of seeing the world-their point of view about the main events of the story. In first person point of view, the narrator tells the story from his or her own perspective. Each of the different modes offers an author particular options and benefits, and the point of view that an author chooses will have a tremendous impact on the way that a reader engages with a story. Stories can be told from one of three main points of view: first person, second person, or third person.

You may hear 'point of view' referred to simply as 'perspective.' This isn't wrong, it's just another way of referring to the same thing.

The vast majority of stories are written in either the first or third person.

Second person point of view is extremely rare in literature.

Each different point of view has its own specific qualities that influence the narrative. It's up to the author to choose which point of view is best for narrating the story he or she is writing.

Some additional key details about point of view: Each point of view creates a different experience for the reader, because, in each point of view, different types and amounts of information are available to the reader about the story's events and characters. The three primary points of view are first person, in which the narrator tells a story from their own perspective ('I went to the store') second person, in which the narrator tells a story about you, the reader or viewer ('You went to the store') and third person, in which the narrator tells a story about other people ('He went to the store'). Point of view refers to the perspective that the narrator holds in relation to the events of the story. What is point of view? Here’s a quick and simple definition:

3rd person point of view