Viewpoints and meaning

One of the big decisions a writer has to make when writing a novel is viewpoint. Viewpoint determines whose “voice” carries the novel or how much of the action is revealed. There are several viewpoints, courtesy of Orges (2011) that can be used.

I’m going to attempt to illustrate examples using things I’ve written (in a book or off the top of my head) because none of you have read the same books, and I tend to read genre fiction because Umberto Eco hurts my already aching head. The viewpoints below are proposed by Orges; the examples are mine.

• First Person Protagonist — the hero of the story narrates the story. I usually write first person because I love getting into people’s heads:

                  I stood at the railing of the ship. The wind disturbed me, as there were no clouds in the sky                   or on the horizon to cause it. What the devil could it be?
                  I yelled to my Captain, who stood beside me scrutinizing the sky. “This looks to be a most                   unusual storm.
                 “I see that, ye idiot!” he yelled; I hardly heard him. “You’re the genius — what the hell do                       you think be causing it?”
                  I walked off, lest I lose patience. I peered at a corner of the sky where I spied a large,                           rather gaudy balloon.

• Secondary Character — the narrator tells the story of the hero. Secondary character narration tends to emphasize how heroic or 

                  “I see that, ye idiot,” the Captain bellowed back. “You’re the genius — what the hell do you                   think be causing it?”
                  Bob walked off, peering at a corner of the sky where he spied a large, rather gaudy                               balloon.
                                 

• Third Person Intimate — the viewpoint follows one person, as if sitting on his shoulder watching him, but cannot get into his head.

                  “Bob stood at the railing of the ship, looking toward the calm western horizon. “Captain,”                   he shouted to the man next to him, the wind swallowing his words. “This looks to be a                         most unnatural storm.”
                  “I see that, ye idiot,” the Captain bellowed back. “You’re the genius — what the hell do you                   think be causing it?”
                  Bob walked off, peering at a corner of the sky where he spied a large, rather gaudy                               balloon.

• Third Person Limited —  the viewpoint follows the action but cannot get into people’s heads.

                   Bob stood at the railing of the ship, looking toward the calm western horizon. He was                          not the only one; the other men above deck peered and muttered in the wind that had                             suddenly blown up. Belowdeck, men bounced off walls as the ship began to list.
                   “Captain,” he shouted to the man next to him, the wind swallowing his words. “This                             looks to be a most unnatural storm.”
                   “I see that, ye idiot,” the Captain bellowed back. “You’re the genius — what the hell do                          you think be causing it?”
                   Bob strode off, peering at a corner of the sky where he spied a large, rather gaudy                                balloon.                

• Third Person Omniscient — the viewpoint follows the action, can get into people’s heads — there’s no limit to what the viewpoint sees

                     Bob stood at the railing of the ship, looking toward the calm western horizon. The fact                        that the winds worked themselves to gale force without any clouds disturbed him. Was it                      magic? he wondered. He was not the only one; the other men above deck                                              peered and muttered in the wind that had suddenly blown up.  Belowdeck, men bounced                      off walls as the ship began to list.

                    “I see that, ye idiot,” the Captain bellowed back. “You’re the genius — what the hell do                          you think be causing it?”
                     Bob strode off, peering at a corner of the sky where he spied a large, rather gaudy                                balloon.

• Commentator (works with any of these): An uninvolved third person, but with a first person insert that gives opinions, observations, etc. 

• Somewhere in-between:
• Interviewer — an after the fact, detached interviewer who gets one or more characters to tell the story. This allows the writer to slip between present and past:

                         I peered at a corner of the sky where I spied a large, rather gaudy balloon…

• Secret Narrator — a person who appears to have nothing to do with the plot, but is revealed later to be one of
  the main characters (good or bad) That means you won’t know the significance of this till later.

                          Belowdeck, in the head,  Cookie the cook prayed as he clutched his St. Christopher’s                           medal. He hated storms, had hated them since he was a wee child and his cradle had                             washed into the sea during a flood. He had been rescued by a stranger, a man who                                 had brought him up.
                          As his guardian had told him, however, his days were numbered and the seas would                             have him back. And now it looked to come true …

• Unreliable Narrator — a narrator (first or third person) whose observations are not to be trusted because of ulterior motives, insanity, etc. 

                          I heard Bob talk to the Captain as if he’d been the first person to notice the wind                                  picking up. He was far from the first — I felt the wind pick up first; I saw the mild                                sky.  Nothing to see here, move along; except for Bob, who was bucking for Captain’s                          job.

You may wonder why I haven’t covered second person:

Bob, go talk to the Captain about that wind you felt. Make sure you tell him about the lack of clouds. And the water balloon. Then be sure to find a way to work around him given he’s an apathetic old sot.

See what that’s like to read? In small doses, maybe.

By the way, this is the hardest blog I’ve ever written!

Citation: Orges, S.M. (2011). The 7 narrator types: And you thought there were only two! Available: http://bekindrewrite.com/2011/09/09/the-7-narrator-types-and-you-thought-there-were-only-two/  [September 3, 2017]