Module 4:A Thousand Voices - Discovering Poetry and Short Stories

Lesson 4.3C: Characters and Point of View

Have you ever finished reading a story or a novel, put the book down, and felt a sort of sadness that the experience was over? Many readers feel this loss when a story comes to a close because they have felt close to the central character or characters. Finishing the story becomes a bit like losing a friend.

Characters are like people in real life. We like some of them and can't stand others. Characters can be fully developed and contradictory people who we feel we can relate to. They can also be one-dimensional figures with whom we don't sympathize at all. This is part of the joy of reading stories, to join the social world of other people, and, for just a while, to experience their world.

This lesson will explore the point of view of a story, with particular attention paid to the first-person point of view, in which a character tells the story from his or her perspective. We will look more closely at character, character traits, and how characters make a story meaningful and enjoyable.

Points of View
As you read a story, it is important to figure out who the narrator is. Remember, someone is always between the reader and the action of the story. That someone, the narrator, tells the story from his or her own point of view. The point of view from which the people, events, and details of a story are viewed is important to consider when reading a story, as this angle of vision can influence how you view or feel about a particular character. Narrators can present themselves or the other characters in the story in either a positive or negative light, and in this way they shape readers' opinions.

There are different narrative points of view, which you will learn about in this module. If the story is told in the first person point of view, an "I" will become obvious, and the story will read like a journal entry or letter. Often you will be told the name of the narrator. When a story is told in the first person point of view, it is particularly important to consider the character telling the tale. After all, that character's interests and awareness make the story what it is. If a different character told the story, a very different world would unfold.

Many narrators come from a third person point of view, narrating the events from outside of the story; the narrators are not one of the characters in the story; and they do not have a name.

Go to Point of View to learn more about this topic.

Guided Practice Activity 4.3C1

Characters Coming of Age
Many first person stories recall childhood; these stories are sometimes called "coming of age" stories. The narrator's entry in to the adult world usually pivots around a specific epiphany, when the central character comes to understand the world in a more mature light. Do you remember the first time you decided not to hold your parents' hands, or the day that you first drove a car, or the sad moment when you experienced real loss for the first time? Those are just some of many markers of maturity, of growing up. Many writers have explored those coming of age moments in story because in that delicate moment between childhood and adulthood, many truths about life can be found. The first person or "I" point of view is effective for this type of story because it allows you deep insight into the thoughts, feelings, and experiences of that one character.

Take a few minutes to reflect on this quotation before you begin reading. What do you think this story might be about? Keep this in the back of your mind while you read! Don't forget to use a reading strategy to help you understand the story.

Understanding Character
The larger quote helps a reader of the story to understand that the time described by the narrator was his time to grow up, to let go of innocence, and to be "on the adult side of the world." And the notion that there is a "time to die" and the narrator's father's final words, "every man moves on" also reminds the reader that his dad is very ill and is likely dying.

This title, and the ideas that are easily drawn from it, make discovering the theme simple. Everything must end. Childhood ends (as it does for the narrator) and life ends (as it will soon for his father).

The narrator of the story is looking back to what he remembers as a very important Christmas, the Christmas his presents were no longer labeled, "from Santa." He admits, "I am not sure how many liberties I may be taking with the boy I think I was" because time may have altered his memories, but we still get a very good sense of his character from this story.

In general, we learn about character traits in fiction in four ways:

• internal thoughts: the things a character notices and feels and reflects upon
• external thoughts and actions: what the character says to others or does
• what others say to or about the character
• physical Description: any reference to what a character looks like

Because "To Everything There is a Season" is a first person story, we discover most of our narrator's traits directly from his internal thoughts and feelings.

Guided Practice Activity 4.3C2.

Summary
Completing this lesson has helped you to:

• understand and recognize point of view in stories
• enjoy a coming of age story
• recognize the importance of titles
• respond to a story with a creative assignment