Literary Criticism

Point of View

Point of view—also known as voice or perspective—refers to the way in which information is

presented in a literary text. Who is telling the story, and how does the author’s choice of narrator

effect the plot? In all works of fiction, authors must make choices about what information to

include and what information to leave out. The author often does not reveal everything that

occurs to every character. Instead, the reader knows only what the author chooses to reveal

through the voice of the narrator.

To consider how this process works, think of important episodes in your life and imagine how

external witnesses might describe them. Now, imagine how people who were not present but only

heard about the events might describe them. The stories will probably be very different, as they

came from people with dissimilar points of view. In a novel, the point of view functions in a

similar manner; the way in which information is presented varies depending on which character is

speaking.

Literary Criticism

As you read the text, consider the following questions related to point of view:

Who is telling the story? How does this effect the story?

How is what we learn in the story limited by the choice of narrator? Does the narrator know everything that is going on, or only some things?

How would the story be different if the author presented another point of view?

How does the author’s choice of perspective contribute to the plot?

Are there multiple points of view? If so, what does each contribute?

Does the narrator provide a reliable account of events? Is he or she trustworthy?

Plot

Plot refers to the sequence of events in a story. In a well-written piece of fiction, events do not

occur randomly. They are arranged according to the author’s wishes. The typical plot structure

contains elements of the following sequence of events:

exposition, where the author provides needed context and background information

rising action, where the author develops a series of crises

climax of the story, where the crisis (a sudden change, for better or worse) is resolved in a certain way, followed by a period of falling action or denouement, where the final elements of the plot are untangled (free from confusion, conflict), and the story is concluded

One way to analyze a work of fiction is to uncover the reasons the plot is constructed in a certain

way.

As you read the text, consider the following questions related to plot:

! Why are the events of the story arranged the way they are?

! How does the plot structure relate to the overall theme of the story?

! What keeps the plot moving? How are the characters motivated or effected

by either internal (psychological, spiritual) or external (familial, societal,

natural) events?

! What is the climax of the story? When does the climax occur?

! What happens after the climax, and how is it significant?

! What are the crises encountered (meet) by the characters? How are they resolved?

! Does the plot make sense? Do events occur logically?

Literary Criticism