Author: | Nola | Published: | almost 7 years ago |
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Tags: | POV, point of view, voice, identification, identifying, understanding | Category: | Writing tips |
If first-person point of view had a theme song, it would be Joan Armatrading’s Me Myself I. We hear the story from the perspective of the narrator, usually the main protagonist. This approach has a number of advantages.
Understanding
First-person POV provides us with direct access to the character. We don’t have to guess or infer what they’re thinking or feeling. They tell us. This can bring a sense of immediacy. We know what’s at stake and the motives for their actions. When Charlie says the following words in the novel Jasper Jones, we understand the world through his eyes.
Identification
As this perspective uses personal pronouns such as I, me and my, we become part of the story. We identify with the character and experience the issues they’re facing.
In one scene from Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca, Maxim de Winter’s new wife unknowingly dresses in a costume that had been worn by his deceased former wife. As she makes her grand entrance, she’s met with looks of horror.
We feel her confusion and see the panic rising. Rebecca is long dead, but her shadow casts an inescapable pall over Manderley.
Voice
First-person POV is an excellent vehicle for bringing out a character’s unique voice. Flavia De Luce, the pre-teen sleuth and chemistry prodigy from Alan Bradley’s best-selling murder mysteries, has a quirky way of looking at the world that comes through in her thoughts and dialogue. For example:
First-person narrative is also effective for showing changes in a character’s voice over time. Emma Healey’s heartwarming debut novel Elizabeth is Missing tells the story of Maud, a woman with dementia, who’s trying to find her friend. When the story dips into events surrounding the earlier disappearance of Maud’s sister in post-war Britain, her voice is clear and strong. When we come back to the present, she has trouble keeping track of her thoughts. As her dementia worsens later in the novel, her thoughts become even more jumbled and we can’t help empathising with a character we’ve grown to love:
Next week, I’ll look at some of the disadvantages of this perspective. In the meantime, I’d love to hear about your favourite first-person novels.
(Sources for quotes: Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey, p. 6; Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier, p. 223; As Chimney Sweepers Turn to Dust by Alan Bradley, p. 36; Elizabeth is Missing by Emma Healey, p. 275).
Comments read 13 comments
Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca is very effective in the first person. It establishes the darkening mood and the woman's fears are so real to the reader. ( I always wish I knew her name though! But I realise her reasons for doing this, I think, as she is in R's shadow.)
Hi Jeanette - I agree. I really love the book and movie of 'Rebecca', though the book brings out more depth and a different twist. I read it many years ago and remember thinking it was so atmospheric. You can really feel for the unnamed heroine having to battle all these things she doesn't understand. Thanks for commenting.
Thanks, Nola. I really enjoyed the old movie too.
I absolutely LOVE your posts, I wish I had a million hours to pour over every single one of your articles so I could read them and re-read them and re-read them again! Thank you for sharing your wisdom.
As for my fav 1st person novel... I have three! :)
1. Robin Hobb's Farseer Trilogy
2. Hunger Games Trilogy
3. Pierce Brown's The Red Rising Trilogy
LOL Thanks Charis - I'll pay you later! Kirsten has also recommended Robin Hobb to me, so I'll have to have a look. I know Hunger Games of course, but haven't heard about the Red Rising trilogy. What's it about? I've been reading more sci-fi and fantasy lately, but not as many as I would like. So many books to read and so little time. Thanks for sharing your favourites with us.
Hi Nola, I love reading books which are written in the first person, for the reasons you've mentioned. I've read a couple of those from your list too. I think an extra favourite of mine might be Great Expectations, with Pip's voice guiding us through. I tried to write one once, but found myself up against the limitations, such as having to be in one place at one time, and not being able to report other people's exciting stuff first hand. It's definitely a choice authors have to weigh up the pros and cons to make.
Hi Paula - Thanks for that. I'm afraid I haven't read many of the classics, including Great Expectations. Though I recently read Jane Eyre and liked the first-person in that. Will have to give Dickens a try at some stage. And thanks for those comments about the pros and cons. I'm going to look at cons in next week's post. There certainly are a lot of factors to consider. I think suspense/murder mysteries are probably the hardest due to the protagonist not being everywhere, though there are ways around it. Thanks for your thoughts.
Some great points - thanks Nola :) Some of my fav 1st person - The Hunger Games trilogy, The Rosie Project and The Help
Hi Jenny - Will have to read The Hunger Games eventually. You and Charis have both recommended it. I also have The Help on my list. And I forgot about The Rosie Project. That certainly does have a unique voice. Thanks for sharing :)
Oh thanks for this reminder Jenny :-) I have 'The Help' and 'The Rosie Project' on my Kindle ... and I really should read 'The Hunger Games' ... yes I really should :-)
Hi Nola, I too love books written the first person. My very first 'first person' book was 'To Kill a Mockingbird'. I've read it three times. Back then in high school I didn't really have a clear idea of what 'first person' was ... and I guess I didn't really care. I just loved a good read. These days it is more meaningful, and I realise that I have indeed read a lot of books from the first person perspective. Probably my favourite (at the moment) is 'The Fault in Our Stars' by John Green. I love reading your posts, as they are so informative. I read them over and over, hoping that one day, all this wonderful information will sink deeply into my stubborn brain ;-)
Hi Jo'Anne - 'To Kill a Mockingbird' is one of my all-time favourite books too. I love the fact that it's not only in first person, but also from the perspective of a child, so we see things quite differently. I haven't read 'The Fault in Our Stars' yet. Is it very sad? I was thinking it might be one I'd have to be in the mood for, but I may be wrong.
And thanks for your kind words about my blog. Now the pressure's on to make sure they stay informative - LOL And I need to practise what I preach and apply what I'm telling everyone else :) I really appreciate your comment.
Thank you to everyone who left a comment. In order to determine the prize winner, I assigned each person a number based on the order of their comments. I then plugged the numbers into a random number generator. I am pleased to announce that Josephine-Anne has won the copy of the 'Fledgings' anthology. Congratulations Jo'Anne. I will post the book to you shortly.
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