Points of View in Three Works

Paper Summary:

The purpose of this paper is to introduce, discuss, and analyze three literary works: "The Country of the Pointed Firs" by Sarah Orne Jewett; "The Awakening" by Kate Chopin; and "My Antonia" by Willa Cather. Specifically, it shows the development of the complexity or the straightforwardness of the point of view. Point of view is often as difficult to pinpoint as the characters of great novels. Sometimes, the point of view in a novel can shift and change, but the bottom line is point of view is a compelling way to keep the reader interested in the story, while telling more about the characters The paper shows that the point of view is a central part of the telling of a tale and that is one of the most important techniques a writer can use to get a point across to the reader.

From the Paper:

"In "The Awakening," the main character, Edna Pontellier, is as detached from her life as the narrator is from telling her story, which is one reason Chopin uses the third-person narrator to relate the story. Edna is an unhappy and unfulfilled woman, and as the narrator relates her tale, it is easy to see why. She spent her life walking the "daily treadmill" of Victorian life, and had no sense of herself as a woman, and so the reader must struggle to find a sense of her too, through the third person."

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