1. ASManager2.zip Driver
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B_VIEW1.txt Driver File Contents (ASManager2.zip)

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Point of View
Part 1

There are two points of view that you will use as an author: the first person and the third person.

First person refers to an "I" character telling his or her own story. Third person refers to an outsider telling about characters (he, she, or they) in the story.

When the story is told in the first person, the narrator uses "I" and its relatives -- me, my, mine.

"I passed the stranger and noticed the unfamiliar cut of his clothes."

When the story is told in third person, the narrator refers to characters as "he," "she," or "they" (and relatives -- him, his, her, hers, their, them).

"She passed the stranger and noticed the unfamiliar cut of his clothes."

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The excerpt below is from Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell. This novel is written from the point of view of the first person (I, me). The author writes as if he were the girl who is thinking and speaking in the story.

Try rewriting the passage so the point of view is third person (she) rather than first person. Delete the first person references and replace each with a third person pronoun or name. Think of yourself as an onlooker who is watching and describing these events. As an onlooker, you may want to use the name of the girl in the story. Her name is Karana.

Steps

1) Read each paragraph completely before you begin your rewrite.

2) Move your cursor so it is beneath the original paragraph.

3) Make your changes in pronouns and names by moving the cursor, deleting, and inserting.

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"I ran past the devilfish and got between him and the deep water. So many of his arms were flailing that it was useless to cut any one of them. One struck me on the leg and burned like a whip. Another, which Rontu had chewed off, lay wriggling at the edge of the water, as if it were looking for something to fasten on to.

The head rose out of the twisting arms like a giant stalk. The gold eyes with their black rims were fixed on me. Above the sounds of the waves and the water splashing and Rontu's barking, I could hear the snapping of his beak, which was sharper than the knife I held in my hand.

I drove the knife down into his body and as I did this I was suddenly covered, or so it seemed, with a countless number of leeches, sucking at my skin. Fortunately one hand was free, the hand that held the knife, and again and again I struck down through the tough hide. The suckers, which were fastened to me and pained greatly, lessened their hold. Slowly the arms stopped moving and then grew limp.

I tried to drag the devilfish out of the water, but my strength was gone. I did not even go back to the reef for my canoe, though I did take the shaft and the head of the spear, which had cost me much labor, and the sinew line.

It was night before Rontu and I got back to the house.

Rontu had a gash on his nose from the giant's beak, and I had many cuts and bruises. I saw two more giant devilfish along the reef that summer, but I did not try to spear them."


Name and save this file now. (Press ctrl+S, type a name for the file, and press enter.)


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Now, reread your passage. Then reread the original version as Scott O'Dell wrote it. (The original version is shown again below.)

After reviewing both versions, come back to this space and type in your thoughts about the two points of view.

Why do you think Scott O'Dell chose to write in the first person?

<  >

What was lost or what was gained by your third person version of the passage?

<  >

If you were the author, which point of view would you choose? Why?

<  >


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O'Dell's First Person Version

I ran past the devilfish and got between him and the deep water. So many of his arms were flailing that it was useless to cut any one of them. One struck me on the leg and burned like a whip. Another, which Rontu had chewed off, lay wriggling at the edge of the water, as if it were looking for something to fasten on to.

The head rose out of the twisting arms like a giant stalk. The gold eyes with their black rims were fixed on me. Above the sounds of the waves and the water splashing and Rontu's barking, I could hear the snapping of his beak, which was sharper than the knife I held in my hand.

I drove the knife down into his body and as I did this I was suddenly covered, or so it seemed, with a countless number of leeches, sucking at my skin. Fortunately one hand was free, the hand that held the knife, and again and again I struck down through the tough hide. The suckers, which were fastened to me and pained greatly, lessened their hold. Slowly the arms stopped moving and then grew limp.

I tried to drag the devilfish out of the water, but my strength was gone. I did not even go back to the reef for my canoe, though I did take the shaft and the head of the spear, which had cost me much labor, and the sinew line.

It was night before Rontu and I got back to the house.

Rontu had a gash on his nose from the giant's beak, and I had many cuts and bruises. I saw two more giant devilfish along the reef that summer, but I did not try to spear them.

Excerpted from Island of the Blue Dolphins
By Scott O'Dell

Now go back to the questions section and type your answers.


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The following excerpt from Where the Red Fern Grows, by Wilson Rawls, is written from the point of view of the first person. The author writes as if he were the boy who is thinking and speaking in the story.

Revise the passage so it uses the third person point of view rather than first person. In this passage you may need to make some extra changes in order to keep your pronouns clear to the reader. Make whatever changes (deleting or inserting) you need.

Remember, you are an onlooker who is watching and describing these events. As an onlooker you may want to use the name of the boy in the story. His name is Billy.

Steps

1) Read each paragraph completely before you begin your rewrite.

2) Move your cursor so it is beneath the original paragraph.

3) Make your changes in pronouns and names by moving the cursor, deleting and inserting.

====================


"I heard when she started digging. I looked around. She was ten feet from the water's edge. I got up and went over to her. She was digging in a small hole about the size of a big apple. It was the air hole for a muskrat den.

I pulled Little Ann away from the hole, knelt down, and put my ear to it. I could hear something and feel a vibration in the ground. It was an eerie sound and seemed to be coming from far away. I listened. Finally I understood what the noise was.

It was the voice of Old Dan. Little Ann had opened the hole up enough with her digging so his voice could be heard faintly. In some way he had gotten into that old muskrat den.

I knew that down under the bank, in the water, the entrance to the den could be found. Rolling up my sleeve, I tried to find it with my hand. I had no luck. It was too far down.

There was only one thing to do. Leaving my ax and lantern, I ran for home. Picking up a long-handled shovel, I hurried back.

The sun was high in the sky before I had dug Old Dan out. He was a sight to see, nothing but mud from the tip of his nose to the end of his tail. I held on to his collar and led him down to the river to wash him off. The water there was much warmer than the cold spring water of the slough.

After washing him, I turned him loose. Right back to the hole he ran. Little Ann was already digging. I knew the coon was still there. Working together, we dug him out."



====================

Now reread your passage. Then reread the original version as Wilson Rawls wrote it. (The original version is shown again below.)

After reviewing both versions, come back to this space and type in your thoughts about the two points of view.

Why do you think Wilson Rawls chose to write in the first person?

<  >

What was lost or what was gained by your third person version of the passage?

<  >

Which point of view do you prefer and why?

<  >

Please save this document now.

====================

Rawls' First Person Version

I heard when she started digging. I looked around. She was ten feet from the water's edge. I got up and went over to her. She was digging in a small hole about the size of a big apple. It was the air hole for a muskrat den.

I pulled Little Ann away from the hole, knelt down, and put my ear to it. I could hear something and feel a vibration in the ground. It was an eerie sound and seemed to be coming from far away. I listened. Finally I understood what the noise was.

It was the voice of Old Dan. Little Ann had opened the hole up enough with her digging so his voice could be heard faintly. In some way he had gotten into that old muskrat den.

I knew that down under the bank, in the water, the entrance to the den could be found. Rolling up my sleeve, I tried to find it with my hand. I had no luck. It was too far down.

There was only one thing to do. Leaving my ax and lantern, I ran for home. Picking up a long-handled shovel, I hurried back.

The sun was high in the sky before I had dug Old Dan out. He was a sight to see, nothing but mud from the tip of his nose to the end of his tail. I held on to his collar and led him down to the river to wash him off. The water there was much warmer than the cold spring water of the slough.

After washing him, I turned him loose. Right back to the hole he ran. Little Ann was already digging. I knew the coon was still there. Working together, we dug him out.


If you haven't done so already, name and save this file now. (Press ctrl+S, type a name for the file, and press enter.)

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