The Great Gatsby: 2nd Person Point of View

Point of View

• Point of View refers to who is telling the story and how much they contribute to the narrative.

2nd Person POV

• Rarely used in literature.
• Uses "you" and presents commands.
• Often the narrator is speaking to him/herself.
• Example: "Wash the white clothes on Monday and put them on the stone heap..." (from Jamaica Kincaid's "Girl")
• Example: "You are not the kind of guy who would be a place like this at this time of the morning..." (from Jay McInerney's Bright Lights, Big City)

3rd Person POV

• Omniscient:
  • The narrator can see into the minds of all characters.
  • Has a godlike perspective, knowing everything past, present, and future.
  • Example: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..." (from Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities)
• Limited:
  • The narrator can see into one character's mind.
  • All characters have thought privacy except for one.
  • Gives the impression of being close to the mind of that one character.
  • Example: "The girl he loved was shy and quick and the smallest in the class..." (from Elizabeth Graver's "The Boy Who Fell Forty Feet")
• Objective:
  • The narrator only describes what happens and does not enter characters' thoughts.
  • Reports what happens and what the characters are saying, like a video camera.
  • Does not add comment about how the characters are feeling.
  • Does not comment on the mood of the setting.
  • Example: "The morning of June 27th was clear and sunny, with the fresh warmth of a full-summer day..." (from Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery")
  • Example: "You should have killed yourself last week," he said to the deaf man..." (from Ernest Hemingway's "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place")