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Perspective



"A writer only begins a book. A reader finishes it."


This lesson deals with perspective, or point of view, a strategy writers use to more accurately convey their meaning to their readers. All writing has a particular purpose, and presenting information in a subjective or objective manner changes the message, and changes who the targeted audience is. As a reader, you will react and interact with the author differently based on the point of view, or perspective, they choose.

Perspective

At first glance, it seems very simple; there are three major perspectives:


We will go into each of these in much greater detail shortly. Suffice it to say, that first person is an immediate perspective, where the author uses personal pronouns such as "I" and "we," "me" and "us." This is called an "immediate" perspective because the reader sees the action through the eyes of the protagonist or narrator.

Second person is written to the reader directly. Much of the writing in these Reading Comprehension lessons is written in second person because, as the author, I use the word "you" quite often. Even when "you" is not specified, it is certainly implied. For example: "Read this paragraph twice to fully understand its meaning." What is the subject of this sentence? It's not there, is it? But we all know there is an implied  "you," i.e."You read this paragraph twice…"

Then, third person shifts the perspective to that of another narrator or character, or multiple characters. There is a sense of being at least one step removed from the action.

Here is an example:

1: Pretend that you are taking a walk along a beach. You feel the sun shining on the top of your head, you hear the sound of the waves crashing on the shore, and you feel the coarseness of the sand underneath your bare feet. Up ahead is a boy and a dog playing fetch. The boy throws the ball into the gentle surf, and the dog charges into the water to retrieve the ball, brings it back to the boy, drops it on the sand and shakes off the water with a vigorous shake. The boy laughs.

2: Now, let's use the same scene, only now you're the dog. You're watching the boy holding the ball. You can see his grin as he tries to pretend he threw the ball, but you always know when he's faking you out. Ah, there! Now he threw it. You whirl around, eyes on the target, the yellow ball floating just past the nearest wave. You charge through the wave, swim to the ball, grab it with your mouth, turn around and then half swim, half surf back to shore. The boy is encouraging you, patting his thighs to get you to hurry back and drop the ball at his feet. Now it's time for a vigorous shake. You do it to get some of the water off, but you also do it because it makes your boy laugh.

It's the same story isn't it? It talks about the same events, but the perspective completely changes how you react to the story. This shift in perspective happens by changing the Point of View.

Point of View, or Perspective, is one of the first choices authors make when they decide to put information down on paper. While you may think this only happens in fiction writing, you'd be mistaken. Point of view changes based on audience, and whether the information needs to be objective or subjective.

The previous examples were a trick. Did you catch the trick? The point of view didn't actually change.

No, it didn't. Both are told from second person!

Here is how they would truly read if they were written in first person and third person:


Point of View 1:  Adam stepped over the log that would take him right up against the shoreline of the beach. The sun was shining warmly making him glad that he wore his baseball cap. The waves are crashing against the shore, playing a game of tag with his bare feet. Just ahead he sees a boy playing fetch with his dog. The boy throws the ball into the gentle surf, and the dog charges into the water to retrieve the ball, brings it back to the boy, drops it on the sand and shakes off the water with a vigorous shake. The boy laughs.

Point of View 2:  Watch out! He's tricky, my boy. Aha! I knew it! He tried to fake me out, but I can tell when he's not going to throw the ball. The instant it leaves his hand I'm moving. Front paws pushing off, twirling on my hind feet and then I'm head-first in the water. The waves are gentle today, so keeping that yellow ball in sight takes no effort. Close, closer, now grab it. Some of the water goes up my nose and down my throat, but I'm successful! Right, left, right, left I'm kicking for all I'm worth, and when the wave from behind lifts me and propels me toward shore I just ride it. My boy is right there, about 10 yards in front of me. I love his enthusiasm as he slaps his thighs and yells, "Atta boy! Come on, bring me the ball!" The instant I feel solid ground beneath my feet I'm racing toward him and then drop the ball at his feet the way he wants. Now I give in to an almost uncontrollable desire to shake all the water off me. I always make sure I'm right next to my boy; he laughs so hard when I get him wet.

Having read through these two rewritten samples, you can see how much the story changes. Point of View I is written in third person perspective, seen through the eyes of someone walking up the beach watching a boy and his dog play ball.

Point of View 2 is written in first person from the point of view of the dog. Notice how immediate it is, which is the intention of the author. It is written so that you enter the mind of the dog and see the entire scene from the dog's perspective. It changes the story, it changes the message, and yet both of them are about the same moment in time.



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