Topic Four (1.4): Prose Fiction: Responding to Narrative Viewpoint
Responding to Narrative Viewpoint – Unit 10 pp.94-107
The narrative viewpoint is the perspective from which we see the events in a story unfold. Sometimes authors will tell the story from a first-person perspective, whereby we see everything from one person’s point of view. Sometimes there are multiple perspectives. The narrative viewpoint will have an impact on how you respond to the events and the characters. There is an old phrase “There are always two sides to every story”, meaning that sometimes, when you hear another person’s versions of events, you get a very different picture of what happened and why. Authors use this old truth to great effect when telling their stories. This part of the module deals with narrative viewpoints and asks us to consider how they have an impact on our appreciation of the story as readers.
Read
Read through ‘Studies in the Park’ on pp.95-97. This story uses a first-person narrator. Consider the effect this has on your understanding of and reaction to the characters.
Interact
Complete Activities 1-5 that follow on pp.97-98. The Further Reading box will point you in the direction of additional reading that makes use of first person narrators. They come highly recommended!
Read
The next extract is from ‘Odour of Chrysanthemums’ by D. H. Lawrence. Here, we see Lawrence make use of a third-person narrator. Consider the different impact this has on your understanding of and reaction to the characters.
Read through the extract on pp.99-101. There is a glossary alongside the text to help you with some of the vocabulary.
Interact
Complete Activities 1-5 that follow on p.102.
Read
Read through the extract from Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton on pp.103-104. There is a glossary alongside the text to help you with some of the vocabulary.
Interact
Complete Activities 1-5 that follow on p.105-106.
Interact
Finally, read the extract from Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations on Worksheet 10.2, and do the activity that follows it. (You don’t need to work in groups of three, but you might find it helpful to discuss the passage with a friend or a member of your family.)
COMPLETE – Worksheet 10.2 Download COMPLETE – Worksheet 10.2
Make sure you refer to ‘Check Your Progress’ on p.107, so that you are confident you have completed all of the tasks.