First-Person and Third-Person Narratives

Dear Readers,

Today, I would be commenting about the first-person and third-person narratives and when to adopt which perspective.

Writers tend to use first-person narrative when the author wants:

a) to have a single-eyed view of all that is going to take place,

b) the readers to feel close to the characters and thereby understand their feelings and emotions.

On the other hand, the third-person narrative is used when the writer wants:

a) more intimacy with all characters,

b) to describe the events with more details from various perspectives,

c) to show more emotions and thoughts, instead of just one from the protagonist.

However, the third-person narrative has three separate branches, namely omniscient and limited. Many might not know the definition of "omniscient", so I have provided the dictionary definition here. (:

omniscient (adj., formal): knowing everything

The omniscient third-person perspective is like a machine where you zap and change bodies with another character repeatedly. The author is able to narrate the entire story by moving from one character to another character, from one event to another event and even from one place to another place! This allows readers to fully understand the feelings, emotions, thoughts and opinions of all characters, even though they might be miles away. A good example would be the Harry Potter series, where all characters' thoughts are being reflected, including Harry's, Hermione's and Ron's.

The limited third-person perspective is much more realistic where you remain in one character's body and the author tells the story from this character, so it is pretty much like a first-person perspective, just that the author uses "John" or "Mary" instead of "I". The emotions revealed in the story are only those of one character and no one else's. A good example would be the Sherlock Holmes series where the story is told by Watson, Holmes' assistant.

Lastly, there is a new perspective which is pretty much not covered in our Language Arts lesson, which is the objective third-person perspective. However, in my opinion, such stories are much more detached than the others, as this kind of stories are very distant. It follows a particular character around the entire story, but no emotions or feelings are stated. The reader is left in suspense throughout and has to make his/her own interpretations of what is going on. A good example would be "Case of the Defence".

I prefer to use the third-person limited perspective, because I am able to express my feelings more effectively. Many might ask, "Isn't first-person perspective even more efficient then?" I agree; however, in tense situations, it would be irrational for the narrator to describe his feelings so vividly. A third-person perspective can do the job.

For example, compare these two scenes:

"I was standing in front of a menacing lion. Its jaws opened so wide till I could see each of its gleaming teeth. I knew I was dead. My heart thumped rapidly, like a speeding racing car at the Formula One Grand Prix, and there were butterflies in my stomach. I succumbed to my fate and counted as the lion closed in on me..." (unrealistic, he is going to die, will he think so much?)

"John was standing in front of a menacing lion. Its jaws opened so wide till he could see each of its gleaming teeth. He knew he was dead. His heart thumped rapidly, like a speeding racing car at the Formula One Grand Prix, and there were butterflies in his stomach. He succumbed to his fate and counted as the lion closed in on him..." (more realistic!)

Also, it provides much more suspense than the omniscient point-of-view.

This can be easily illustrated by a simple scenario where A wants to surprise B with a birthday party. With a limited perspective where I focus on B's emotions, I am able to keep the readers in suspense. With an omniscient perspective, I have to cover A as well because doing otherwise would mean leaving A out of the story which would not seem right since A is too a major character in the story.

However, after reading stories such as "On the Run" and "The Use of Force", I am quite inspired to try out first-person perspective because it is more efficient in expressing one's emotions than third-person limited perspective!

Thank you very much. Please feel free to comment on this and provide your own viewpoint, making this blog from a first-person limited perspective to a third-person omniscient perspective! :) Also feel free to share your favourite writing perspectives!

Best Regards,
Nathan :)

Setting Description

Dear Readers,

This is my attempt at describing a particular scene of a beach which Miss Huang gave us today during lessontime. Please do give some comments!

The soft scented breeze of the sea blows across the faint yellow sand. The still water, tinted with a faint light blue, looks magnificent under the dark blue sky with a light tinge of purple. A tree looks on and welcomes the gentle ripples in the water, waving its leaves occasionally as though to a friend. A small, white motorised boat with a blue shelter floats on the water, silent and lonely, whilst its counterparts sail peacefully towards the horizon and a tiny offshore island not visible from my spot. I watch quietly at the sky as the puffy, white clouds just above the horizon float and dance around as if at the Prince's ball. The giant beach umbrella of leaves from the tree nearest to me shades me as I lie on the gentle touch of the sand. I sniff the air. The salty smell of the sea wafted into my nose. Ah, this is heavenly!

Thank you very much.

Best Regards,

Nathan

Home Learning Task: Comic Strip and Reflections

Dear Readers,

Today, 24th January, is our first Home Learning experience in the year! We were supposed to create a comic strip to share a particular message or theme. This is my comic strip:














These are some of the questions posed and my responses respectively:


Why did you choose the different pictures or background(s)?

How do they contribute to the elements (plot, setting, characterisation)?

How did you make use of the different elements to contribute to the theme you have chosen?

I chose to use the school as the background, because I feel that as students we spend most of our waking hours in school. Therefore, this greatly helps provide a setting where youngsters will be at ease with the familiar environment. In addition, the school is an institution of learning and education, thereby reinforcing the plot; the element of “preaching” and the eventual result of not practising what they preach.

A teacher is used here to support the theme as most of the time, they are the ones who educate us both academically as well as morally.. As they are the ones whom we look up to, it helps to boost my plot by further substantiating that adults should practise what they preach. The comic strip introduces a morally upright, intelligent teacher, who later turns out to be that someone who does not practise what he preaches.

The boy is shown slouching as he is experiencing mixed emotions: embarrassment, helplessness and even confusion. He evidently does not understand why the teacher was abusing him verbally with numerous expletives.

I chose to use the picture of a principal, because he holds the greatest authority in a school and is most likely to be able to reprimand teachers for their misdoings. This helps in characterisation where it is evident that the principal is one who cares greatly about his school’s reputation as well as students. The principal selected for this comic strip is a stereotype who is elderly, plump and well-dressed.

I selected to make the principal’s office one that is cosy and comfortable with, with sofas and a coffee table with a jug as well as a large showcase of books. This further helps in developing the characterisation of the principal being extremely well-read and approachable. It also breaks stereotypes of being “hell”, since many students feel that going to the principal’s office only means trouble and reprimanding.

Thank you very much!

Best Regards,
Nathan :)

"To Kill A Mockingbird": Historical, Cultural and Author's Background

1. Why is it necessary to understand the historical and cultural context of the novel?

With the historical background and cultural context being set, we will then be able to better comprehend the characters' behaviour; why the characters act the way they say the things they say, and do the things they do.

In this novel "To Kill a Mockingbird", when we know the historical / cultural context, we can understand why Tom Robinson was being ostracised by society and was charged with a crime he did not commit. This was because of his black skin colour, and during the age they lived in, blacks had a lower social standard and were therefore prejudiced by the whites, resulting in the unfair judgement being passed.

2. How does it help to understand the author's background? Is it necessary to learn about the author's background?

By knowing the author's background, we can then understand why the novel is being written in a particular style, and perspective. In the case of "To Kill A Mockingbird", some words such as "chiffarobe" (closet-like furniture) are rarely, if not used at all in today's context.

Different authors have different purposes for which the story was written. Therefore, by understanding the author's background (for example, in which era the novel was written), we can truly achieve the author's aim of writing this novel, and grasp the true meaning of what the author was trying to bring across.

We can also understand why the story unfolded in the way it did. For instance, an optimistic one would always close the story with "light at the end of a tunnel", which we can only anticipate beforehand if we are aware of the author's character. On the contrary, a pessimistic author would probably have a sad unfolding of the story.

Lastly, we can comprehend and relate to the author's beliefs and point-of-view on social issues that were rampant during the era.

With the aforementioned points, it can be concluded that knowing more about the author's background will definitely benefit the reader.

3. Is it possible to appreciate the text without pre-reading about the historical and cultural context of the novel / background of the novel?

Without the understanding of the historical and cultural context of the novel, we would not know why certain character(s) treat others or are being treated in a particular way. It would, too, be extremely difficult for the reader to understand why, during that time, some particular cultures and customs are being practised or performed, thereby making the comprehending of events a tedious task.

Prejudice: KWL

PREJUDICE

KNOW

What do I already know about prejudice?

To me, prejudice means that a group of people is being discriminated for a particular reason and being treated in an undesirable manner. Usually, prejudice is caused by differing beliefs, opinions and even religions. This has occurred repeatedly throughout the entire history of mankind; for example, the Jews were being discriminated against during the World War II.

WANT
What do I want to learn/know about prejudice?

I would like to find out why are people so prejudiced against their fellow humans, just because of differences in race, religion and even skin colour. It is very sad to see that in the modernised world, India still has a caste system whereby inter-marrying is forbidden.

LEARN
What did I learn about prejudice?

I learnt that prejudice can cause a lot of physical and emotional harm to the victims. I also learnt the difference between "prejudice" and "discrimination", two words which most people think have the same definition. "Prejudice" is abstract and cannot be seen; however, "discrimination" is the act taken against a party, which is brought about by prejudice.

Commentary on "It Couldn't be Done" by Edgar Albert Guest

Dear Readers,

My first post in this blog will be to comment on the poem "It Couldn't be Done" by Edgar Albert Guest.

It Couldn't be Done
by Edgar Albert Guest

Somebody said that it couldn't be done,
But, he with a chuckle replied
That "maybe it couldn't" but he would be one
Who wouldn't say so till he'd tried.

So he buckled right in with the trace of a grin
On his face. If he worried he hid it.
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn't be done, as he did it.

Somebody scoffed: "Oh, you'll never do that;
At least no one we know has done it";
But he took off his coat and he took off his hat,
And the first thing we knew he'd begun it.

With a lift of his chin and a bit of a grin,
Without any doubting or quiddit,
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn't be done, and he did it.

There are thousands to tell you it cannot be done,
There are thousands to prophesy failure;
There are thousands to point out to you, one by one,
The dangers that wait to assail you.

But just buckle right in with a bit of a grin,
Just take off your coat and go to it;
Just start to sing as you tackle the thing
That cannot be done, and you'll do it.

Why do I like this poem?

Personally, I find this poem extremely inspirational and encouraging, which never fails to cheer me up when I am feeling down.

Throughout the poem, the protagonist is being told by others that something was impossible to do or that he would be unable to succeed in his endeavours. However, he refused to succumb to fate, but instead, persevered on and refused to admit defeat until he had attempted and given a shot at it.

Whenever I encounter failure or simply feel unhappy, reading such inspiring poetry would always boost my energy level to enable me to persevere and soar to greater heights.

This poem is written in simple English, suitable even for young children. This is evident in that no bombastic words are being used.

Therefore, I find this poem suitable for everyone as this would greatly boost their morale, especially during their deepest and darkest abysses in both work and studies.

What have I learnt from this poem?

From this poem, I have learnt that one should not be easily influenced by what others may think, and that we should not think that something is impossible to achieve before we actually try it.

More often than not, we are mentally challenged by others’ words, when they say that a particular task is impossible or that we do not have the capability to undertake it. The natural reaction would be to agree with them and leave it undone.

However, the protagonist here did not give up on doing the task, despite others’ criticisms and discouragements. In fact, he attempted the task with a smile, totally unaffected by the words directed at him. Eventually, he was able to perform the task which others deemed “impossible”. Edgar Albert Guest instilled in me the “CAN DO” attitude so that I am able to face life’s obstacles with unwavering determination!

Please feel free to express your views on this!

Best Regards,
Nathan :)