Imagine you are working for a theatre company that is staging a production of this story. Create a poster where the central image represents a key moment. You will present this to your class explaining why you have chosen this significant moment.
W6.4 Guide to Choosing Your Narrator
You will notice that Edgar Allan Poe uses a wicked and eccentric (strange) narrator, which makes this short story absolutely gripping. Ask yourself the following questions: l l l
Is the narrator and protagonist the same person? Is the narrator a hero or a villain?
Is he a reliable narrator? Can we trust what he is saying?
You should also bear these questions in mind when you decide to create your own narrator.
First person narratives
l l
l l Are written from one (or more) character’s point of view
Have narrators who speak directly to the reader about themselves but they are not always the main character
Are identified by personal pronouns such as ‘I’ ‘my’ ‘I’d’, etc.
Have narrators who share their emotions but can be unreliable
E.g. Katniss Everdeen narrates Te Hunger Games from her point of view. Second person narratives
l l
Make the reader the protagonist of the story Can be identified by the pronouns ‘you’ or ‘we’
E.g. Nathanial Hawthorne’s story ‘Te Haunted Mind’ invites the reader to become the character.
Third person narratives
l l l
Don’t directly involve the writer in the action
Are identified by pronouns such as ‘he’, ‘she’ and ‘they’, etc. Are useful in describing various characters’ actions and feelings
E.g. Sometimes third person narrators can be omniscient: they can go anywhere at any time in the story. Te narrator of Te Lord of the Rings can jump from Sam and Frodo in Mordor to Gandalf and Aragorn in Rohan. Tis narrator knows everything!
D 192 FIRE AND ICE 2 FIRE AND ICE 2
Remember
Key moments, p. 37.
Remember
Pronouns are words that substitute for nouns, for example ‘me’, ‘your’ or ‘it’.
