Today we will review the terms about narration we learned on Monday. Mr. Stowell selected a few stories that he really likes and read narration from them while the class went about discussing and debating what type of narrator they had. Please note that in novels, the decision of what type of narrator isn't always %100 one type, but a mixture of two, although there usually is a dominate type. In short stories, it's easier to tell (because they are shorter).
Here is what we determined:
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone - 3rd pers. limited. We see inside Harry's head primarily, although there are times when we do see a little into some of the minor characters, such as the Dursleys...making it a little omniscient.
Lord of the Rings - The Fellowship of the Ring - 3rd pers. limited. We see inside Bilbo Baggins' head frequently, although a lot of the narration is descriptive, as if seen by a "fly on the wall," making it a little objective.
Angels and Demons - 3rd pers. limited. We see inside Langdon's head the most, who is the primary character, but to a lesser degree, we do see inside the head of his partner, Vittoria. So, there is more than one, so you could argue that it is a little omniscient.
A Series of Unfortunate Events - The Slippery Slope - 3rd pers. omniscient. We see inside the heads of several characters, most notably the Baudelaire children...but you could argue that the three of them almost act as a single unit, and we don't see into the heads of anyone but them, so you could argue that it could be a little limited.
The Hunger Games - 1st person. Boom. Easy. This book is narrated by the protagonist, Katniss, referring to herself as "I" and we definitely see inside her head.
"The Things They Carried" - 3rd person omniscient. This one is easy too, if you read for long enough. We see into the heads of all of the soldiers as they are on their march. (This is one of my favorite short stories of all time, by the way, but it's about Vietnam and can be kind of graphic, so you may want to wait to high school to really read it and like it).
Tomorrow, we will go on a scavenger hunt and you will find each type of narrator!
Homework: None.
