16. Point of View
Point of view is the angle of narration, the angle in which the narrator tells the story. I think everybody knows that already. Always remember that point of view is DIFFERENT FROM THE NARRATOR. The narrator is the one telling the story. It is in his eyes where we know the story. The point of view determines what the narrator is able and willing to reveal. It is the mask between the author and the reader. It determines the attitude of the story towards the subject and the readers. It also determines the meaning of the story. Make sure you choose the best point of view in your story. Just like for example in the Shirley Jackson's The Lottery, the narrator was just telling us about the Lottery. Of course, all of us know what lottery is, right? If we won a lottery were like "Yay, I won!" But actually, we will find out in the end that The Lottery in the story is actually brutal. The one who won in the lottery did not actually won because she was stoned to death. I don't want to reveal this in here because I think most of you have not read the story (I recommend the story for you to read.) Shirley Jackson's narrator uses the Third person Scenic (Observer). The narrator is not involved in the story. The narrator is tight lipped. He chose to reveal in the end. What do you think is his purpose? Of course, to give us a shock.
