Narratives Points of View as an Element of the Craft of Fiction (Essay Sample)

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Narrative’s points of view as an element of the craft of fiction.
There are various essential elements which are common to all forms of creative writing. The intensity to which these elements get used varies. These elements are critical in the creative writing of short stories, poetry, novels and scripts. (Stepan) One of the elements of the craft of fiction is the narrative's viewpoint. When the narrative is being told from uniform perspective, that perspective is called a viewpoint. (Rasley) Narrative viewpoints determine who is narrating the plots and events of the story. Fiction and non-fiction writers choose whose eyes we see through and whose voice we hear telling the story. (Stepan)Narrative viewpoint gathers its lexicon from the number and persons of its pronouns: First, second and third pronouns. In addition, pronouns are characterized as singular or plural.

FIRST PERSON

SECOND PERSON

THIRD PERSON

SINGULAR

I, me, my, mine, myself

You, your, yours, yourself

He, she, it, him, her, its, himself, herself, itself

PLURAL

We, ours, us, our, ourselves

You, your, yours, yourself

They, them, their(s), themselves

First Person Narrative.First-person narrative is a narrative style where the narrator uses one character at a particular time, speaking for and about themselves. (Rasley) It may be singular, plural or multiple. First-person narrative can be an authoritative, reliable or misleading and represents the narrators' viewpoint. (Bates)There are a number of ways the first person narration can play out. One of the ways is through the peripheral narrator. The first-person narrator who is not the main character is the peripheral first-person narrator. (Bates) In some narrations, so as to deliver a larger viewpoint, the first person narrator may relate to information they heard from other characters.First-person narrative follows the character’s inner voice allowing readers to emphasize with him or her. A connection is created when the reader emphasizes with the character. The first person perspective allows for protagonists' development. (Stepan) The storyteller is not the narrative's character but stands for the narrator or reader making observations from a fictional universe. When using the first person's point of view, the storyteller should have a main character's personality in mind.To summarize, the narrator should become the narrative character. He or she should connect with the reader and share thoughts. The storyteller should be mindful that consciousness stream writing can be attractive. (Stepan) He or she should minimize the use of "I" as much as possible. To avoid being dull, the narrator should use "show" instead of "tell." First person viewpoint is hardly used in academic writing as it is considered less objective. First person narrators are considered subjective by default. (Bates)
Second person Narrative.The narrator uses the second person viewpoint to dare the reader. He/she has a specific purpose in mind when using the second person viewpoint. It draws the readers into the narrative almost making them participants in the action. (Stepan) The second-person viewpoint gives the reader a peek into a memory, relationship or a character's emotion.Usually, the narrator speaks to a younger version of themselves. The reader may feel that they are spoken to, and will find it a challenge to accept that they are performing the things the storyteller is telling them to do. (Stepan) When the narrator is using this point of view, it is crucial to inform the reader, who is being addressed, so that they can trust in the narrator and accept the story as given. (Bates)Narrations in second-person point of view is very rare than the first-person or the third person. More often, it is used in poetry than in prose. It is rarely used as it may alienate the reader who will feel compelled into the role of the character. It is used where the author intends to give instructions to the reader. (Rasley)The second person narrative is obviously not intended to be the same character as a reader. Instead, the narrator is asking the reader to stand in for the fictional character and imagine that they are in them. Regardless of the viewpoint, all narratives call for a so-called willing disbelief suspension. (Stepan) In second person narrative, the storyteller might either be the narrator's persona or the story's character.The narrator constantly confronts the reader assuming the reader will react in a positive manner. There is a barrier, in second-persona, set between the narrator and the reader. When second person is used in the narrative, there is little room left for creating a valid character. (Rasley) This is because the second person narrator is unattached in an indefinable storyteller. The reader becomes dependent largely on the narrative description since action, and internalization and dialog are assigned to a hazy undefinable narrator.Use of the second person with the past tense is natural where the storyteller or a character addresses another character, and it is made clear to the reader. (Bates)Third person Narrative.The narrator uses the third-person point of view when there's a disembodied character telling the story. A disembodied character is a character who has never been identified. It is part of understanding between the narrator, and the reader will assume that there is a character that can relate to the events taking place in the story without being involved. (Stepan) The third-person viewpoint is subjective. It allows the narrator freedom to tell the story from different perspectives hence becoming less claustrophobic.In narration, it is rare for a writer to use the second person point of view and even more rare for narration to be from a plural viewpoint. (Bates) A consistent viewpoint limits the amount and range of knowledge the story teller can stir to tell a narrative. This is called omniscience.Through omniscience, the narrator limits the range, and knowledge raised in the story and its characters. The narrators' intelligence degree may be classified as either omniscient, objective, subjective or episodically limited. (Stepan) The relationship between the narrator and the characters determines this. There are four intelligences of omniscience.Objective.The story teller is observant but can't enter into the other character's minds with the exception of a questioning manner. Such a story teller is trapped by the chronology and immediacy of the story. (Bates)The narrator is like a reporter, in first-person narrative, but not in the entire narrative. He/she is an invisible eyeball, self-aware but took out from the events being described. It allows context creation of honesty and accuracy. (Stepan) It places the reader in the story's investigation position instead of the narrative’s character position. However, it can prevent the story teller from some of the most imaginative aspects of conveying the narrative. (Rasley)The objective narrating voice is best suited to third-person. It removes ego and assures bias removal from the narrative. The narrator relays the facts without altering them and fails to attempt to act upon them or explain on their significance. (Bates) The trustworthiness of the narrator is assured this way. Trustworthiness would be useful when trying to come up with intrigue or mystery. (Stepan) It also allows the narrator to focus on the minute details of special interest that will speak for themselves. The narrator, however, gets prevented from coming up with a more subjective interpretation of the facts. Dispassionate and disconnected feelings may result from the narrative.
Omniscient.The storyteller sees and knows all. He/she can describe and analyze any character's thoughts and emotions. (Rasley) In first-person point of view, the narrator is both story's central ego and has divine abilities to jump in and out of time, place and the consciousness of the character.The advantage thing about this is that it is useful when trying to capture the view of fantastical characters such as ghosts and god. (Stepan) It disadvantages the reader in that it tires him/her with its egotism and finally distrusts the objective observations of the story teller.In third person viewpoint, the narrator is a disembodied, disconnected voice. He/she is a floating consciousness that approximates the reader's consciousness. (Bates) It allows enormous flexibility for the story teller to move via complex plots and to present comparative points of view. When non-human characters are involved, it is the easiest to use. (Stepan)Subjective.Also known as the limited omniscience. The story teller of a subjective viewpoint who knows everything about a particular character only and sees the story of the character’s eye. In first-person narrative, this is the most practical and enjoyable way to convey for most narrators and readers as well. (Rasley) The subjective experiences of the pronoun "I" are part of the conveying the narrative. The reader, meanwhile, discovers the extent to which he or she should trust the subjective point of view.It allows the narrator to be an active narrative's part. This allows the reader a strong, complex well-developed perspective with which to identify. (Stepan) However, in first person narrative, it can create a cage denying the reader a chance to explore the other points of view. (Bates) It also places responsibility on the narrator to keep the internal landscape of the narrator as compelling and interesting as the external landscape of the narrative, itself.Similar to the first person case, subjectivity in the third person narrative lets the reader become one of the characters. (Stepan) The reader can compare with that character's perspective with his or her own. However, the main difference is that the t...