Due Friday:
Five (5) pages of fiction writing representing 3 weeks of your work in this class. Double-spaced, typed, Times 12 point font, checked for spelling, grammar and punctuation. This may be a work-in-progress or a completed story. We will be scheduling pieces to workshop after the break. Please use your class time productively today and be respectful of fellow students who are writing in the lab by focusing on your own reading and writing.
Also, read Lorrie Moore's "How to Become a Writer" written in 2nd person. Any ideas from this piece?
http://www.ninetymeetingsinninetydays.com/lorriemooore.html
Take a look at the following article and exercise. Post your reply.
http://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/virtualit/fiction/elements.asp?e=4
Continue to work on your short story for workshop on Friday.
HMWK: Read Alice Adams' "Alaska" in the Oxford book for discussion on Friday.
1. Third person is certainly more objective than first person and focuses more on the action, while first person focuses more on the thoughts in the narrator's head. The content of the first person perspective also, in this case anyway, comes across as more informal than the third person passage.
ReplyDelete2. Most fairy tales are written in third person most likely to keep the emphasis on the plot rather than on the inner thoughts of the character. Writing a fairy tale in first person would make the story very personal, which does not follow the traditional format of a fairy tale.
1. The overall effect is so extremely different on the reader even though it is, essentially, the same story. The third person perspective is lighter, faster and easier read. It's a litter shorter. The first person gives the reader a general view of goldilocks, but we don't know anything about her really. The thid person point of view gives her character a whole different feel. The first person feels like a revisited fairy tale for older kids.
ReplyDelete2. I think most fairy tales are told from the third person perspective because it gives it less dimension. These are obviously intended for little kids and they don't care entirely about the character's flaws and thoughts, they just care to know that she is sad, mad, glad, etc. Third person provides a broader and simpler perspective.
1. The third person perspective is clearer than the first person narration. The third person perspective offers some insight to the character's thoughts and feelings but focuses more on the action of the story. The first person perspective focuses mostly on the thoughts running through Goldilocks' head. The first person perspective, in this example has a more defiant tone because Goldilocks is angry with her mother. In the third person perspective, it is clear that Goldilocks is upset, but that is not the focus of the story.
ReplyDelete2. Most fairy tales are told in the third person because it is the action that is most important to the story. It is less important to focus on the psychology of the characters and adding a lot of extra details can clutter the story and confuse the reader. Third person allows the reader to see multiple perspectives and see the story as a whole instead of seeing one, potentially skewed, viewpoint.
1. Both the third-person omniscient and the first-person perspectives of this story allow the reader to understand the main character’s (Goldilocks’) thoughts. However, the third-person version is more objective, observing Goldilocks from the outside rather than the inside. Surely Goldilocks would not refer to herself as “a proud and defiant little girl” in the first-person version. Instead, these qualities are shown by her rebellious attitude and internal grumblings about her mother in the first-person perspective. Although the third-person omniscient narrator knows what Goldilocks is thinking too, this style of narration does not show her personality and attitude as fully as first-person narration.
ReplyDelete2. The characters in fairy tales are not really “characters.” They are types—the handsome prince, the beautiful princess, the evil villain, the innocent children, etc. As such, they are easier and simpler to understand when they are referred to in third person. First person adds a depth and dimension that the story doesn’t need. In fact, it complicates the story and interrupts the narrative flow that keeps fairy tales so enchanting. The important part is action, not the character development.